Who Let The Rain In?
by tjmack1986
Summary: Chuck and Sarah run away together, leaving Casey to track them down and drag them back. LOOK INSIDE FOR MORE INDEPTH SUMMARY
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've been working on this one for a while. I've got four chapters written so far. I want to thank Creedog for beta'ing this one for me!**

**Title: **Who Let The Rain In?  
**Summary: **Chuck and Sarah run away together, leaving Casey to track them down and drag them back. With the prospect of Sarah spending the rest of her life in prison and Chuck living in padded cell curtsey of the CIA, they duck, dodge, and try to outsmart Casey, Morgan, and new to the team Agent Kaitlin Buchanan.  
**Beta: **Creedog  
**Characters: **Chuck Bartowski, Sarah Walker, John Casey, Morgan Grimes, Kaitlin Buchanan

* * *

Chapter One

Sarah stood with her back to the train station, fear written across her face. This was the most exposed that she had ever felt. Even more exposed than when she had watched in horror as her father was taken from her. This time her heart was on the line, and there was a chance that it might be broken beyond all repair. At least with her father she tried to pretend that she didn't care. After the initial shock of the scene that had unfolded in front of her eyes wore off and the tears in her eyes had dried she was able to stand up on her own two feet and make a life for herself. Even the life she had decided to live was mostly a lie, a cover to hide herself from the world, it was a life she was proud of.

If Chuck didn't show up, if he chose being a spy over her, well that was something that Sarah Walker was certain, that she couldn't live with. If Chuck broke her heart, she knew that it was something that she would never fully recover from.

Bryce had hurt her severely when she thought he had betrayed his country. When she thought he had betrayed her, but he hadn't had the chance to break her heart since she never fully gave it to him. When she had been with him, it was wild and passionate and absolutely carefree, but standing here waiting for Chuck to show up, she realized that she never really loved him. She cared about him, he was...had been her partner after all, but love had never been an emotion that Sarah Walker had ever felt...until now.

She could admit it, if only to herself. He had taken her by surprise that first day in the Buy More. She had thought that it would be an easy task, a piece of cake. She'd infiltrate his life, get the intersect back and return to DC before she knew it. Then she met him, and watched in awe as he so sweetly helped the little ballerina and her flustered father. He had been so sweet when he consoled her when she felt self-conscious about her height.

Sarah thought that maybe that was when her feelings for Chuck went from him being just another asset to being a friend. Someone that would be there after a bad day, when all she needed was a shoulder to cry on, or someone that she could talk to. Even if she hadn't been able to tell him anything very personal, she had wanted too. Seeing the absolute sadness in his eyes every-time she shut him down, broke down her defenses faster than his charming witty personality.

"This is the last call for Berlin."

Looking down at the extra ticket and passport in her hand, she can feel a couple of tears form in the corner of her eyes. Squeezing them shut, she stops them from falling. Sarah Walker does not cry. Not over anyone, or anything...except Chuck. Her mind flashes to the couple of times that she thought that she had lost him, and could feel the same collapsing fear of living a life without Chuck Bartowski. That same feeling overwhelmed her entire self in that moment, as she watched the last few stragglers board the train that both, her and Chuck, were supposed to be on.

Pulling her jacket tighter around her body as the wind picked up, she heard the rustle of papers behind her. Turning toward the offending noise that had brought her back down to Earth, she gasped in surprise. Even though she wanted him to be here, to stand there and hold her close. To tell her that they were making the right decision, that they had no choice. Part of her thought that he wouldn't..part of her didn't want him to show up. As much as she loved him and needed him, his family and friends needed him.

Having that thought come to the forefront of her thoughts she realized how absolutely selfish she was being. To make him choose her, a woman that continually shut down his advances, over his family and friends. Over his sister who had raised him on her own, without any help, and Morgan who had been there for him through all his hard times, especially the whole Stanford and Jill thing. She hung her head, even though she could hear him walking toward her.

She only raised her head back up when she felt his hand touch her shoulder. His touch was so gentle, like he was afraid that if he was too rough she might break into a million pieces. The thought, even with as weird as it was considering her job, was heart-warming.

"Are you okay? Did you change your mind?"

"Chuck..."

Her eyes closed as she fought off a new batch of tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. If she was going to talk him out of doing this she had to be strong. Tears don't equal strength.

"Sarah...are you crying?"

"No."

She knew it was a lie the moment the word slipped from her lips. Even if she refused to let the tears fall to signal that she was indeed crying, her body shook on the inside from the pain of giving up the one thing that she wanted the most right now.

"Chuck we can't do this. It's not right. You have a family...you have friends. They need you."

"And you don't?"

The pain in his voice, and the hurt in his eyes ate away at the little resolve that she had left. She let her free hand grip on of his hands. Her eyes focused on their joined hands and thought carefully of her next words. She had to talk him into staying, without hurting him.

"Of course I do Chuck. You bring balance to my life, a balance that I've been without for far too long. So yes, I do need you Chuck, but your family and friends need you more. Think of Ellie, Devon and Morgan. What would they do without you? If we do this, if we board that train and leave Prague we'll be considered AWOL...we'll never be able to go back to Burbank. We'll be running from the agency for the rest of our lives. If we ever get caught then I'll go to prison and you'll..."

"Be kept in a top-secret government facility to never see the light of day again. I know. Casey's threatened it enough that I've memorized the words...that doesn't matter though. It's a small price to pay to be with you. Will I miss my family...my friends? Of course I will. It'll be hard, and it will take a long time to adjust. To live my life, unable to see my sister, to be able to talk to her about any, and everything that I need to? To get stupid advice from Morgan that will hurt me more than it helps. I know though that if they knew the circumstances...they would give us their blessing. Ellie wants me to be happy, it's all she's ever wanted for me. You make me happier than I could have ever imagined. You are everything that I ever thought that I wanted, and so much more. I wake up with the biggest smile on my face every morning knowing that I'll get to see you again. Every-time that we kiss...whether it's an accident or not...my heart races, or well more like pounds in my chest…and my palms sweat, which I know is way more information than is needed, but, I love you Sarah Walker, I always have."

Unable to keep the tears in anymore, they start to flow freely, his words so beautifully heart-warming, that he would chose to leave with her and leave his old life behind.

"Please don't cry."

"They're happy tears."

She smiles genuinely at him, and realizes that the only time that she smiles like this...without effort, is when she's with Chuck.

"Good. I don't like to think of you crying. You're not the crying type...You're more of the ass-kicking type."

He smiles back at her, before pressing his lips to hers softly at first and letting the fiery intensity take over. After a few seconds Sarah reluctantly pulls away, her forehead pressed against his.

"If this is what you truly want, then we need to go. The train is going to pull away any minute now."

"Then let's go."

His gloved clad hand grabbed hold of hers and pulled her body into his side so that he could slide his arm around her waist. She handed him his ticket and passport. Without a look back, they boarded the train that was bound for Berlin, with no other thought on their minds than being together, and being happy.

* * *

"Colonel Casey."

"Hello General, Agent Walker hasn't arrived just yet. How is Bartowski's training going?"

"That is what I'd like to talk with you about Colonel."

Casey could feel the dread wash over his usual calm. When he really thought about it, he hadn't seen or heard from Agent Walker in a few days. He thought that maybe she was still 'grieving' over the fact that Bartowski was nearly another world away.

"Chuck has not shown up for his training exercise today. He's usually very prompt...When was the last time you've heard from Agent Walker?"

"I don't know, a few days...two or three?"

He honestly couldn't remember. After Chuck had been flown to Prague to begin training to harness the powers that the intersect 2.0 held for him, General Beckman had put both him and Walker in a holding position. She had gone onto say that she was a little weary of breaking up a team that seemed to work better together than apart. Walker had kept in contact with him, waiting for word of their next mission just like him. Slowly her calls became more infrequent until they stopped altogether a few days earlier. He hadn't really thought much of it. Knowing that Bartowski was able to make short calls home to make sure that no suspicion arose of his whereabouts. Maybe Bartowski had called Walker and her lady feelings got her down again. She had been a real sad mess when Chuck boarded the jet that took him especially to Prague.

"Colonel, I'm afraid that Agent Walker and Mr. Bartowski have gone AWOL."

Was he really surprise? Of course not, Bartowski was full of all sorts of 'lady feelings' and though she tries to hide it, Sarah is a lady, so of course she has 'lady feelings' too. It wouldn't be the first time that Bartowski and Walker tried to run away together. He knew what was coming next, and he also knew that it was going to be much different this time. Mainly considering that they left Prague, and could be almost anywhere. Cringing he realized that he was going to need help and he knew who he needed. It pained him to think the words, let alone say them.

"You want me to find them General?"

"Yes Colonel, by any means necessary."

"I was afraid you'd say that..."

"What is it Colonel?"

"This mission is not going to be an easy one. I might need some assistance."

"I'm one step ahead of you. I have a special agent on their way out to your location."

"I meant...special assistance. Someone close to Bartowski, who knows how that loser nerd thinks...I need Morgan Grimes."

The look of disgust on the General's face was almost priceless, and if Casey's face didn't mirror her's almost exactly he probably would have chuckled...on the inside at least.

"I don't like this Colonel. If you bring Grimes in, he'll know the asset's secret. Can he be trusted?"

"Unknown General. He's a wild-card, but he is the best chance we have to find Walker and Bartowski. He knows how Chuck thinks. If anyone can find him, it'll be Grimes."

"Fine, but it's your job on the line Colonel. Just remember that."

Without one more word the screen went blank. With a frustrated grunt, Casey made his way through the underground castle, toward the Buy More. He needed to get a nerd's help. If he didn't find and capture Walker and Bartowski, like the General had said, it was his job on the line.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: My apologies for the long wait. The holiday's were beyond busy, and my new semester starts Monday *insert sarcastic remark here* so I've been trying to get everything ready for that. Please enjoy, and remember, reviews make me write faster! Special thanks to Creedog for being an absolutely fantastic beta! **

* * *

Chapter Two

Casey stood and watched as he cycled through the various camera angles of the Buy More. He had heard some in-store chatter, or rather some gossip that Morgan had returned to Burbank from his short, misled trip to Hawaii just a few days earlier. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of the tiny man-boy, hopefully alone. He needed to snatch him up quickly, without being noticed by any of the other Buy Morons, like Jeff or Lester.

Casey saw Morgan walking in slowly as he headed for the Nerd Herd headquarters. Both Jeff and Lester were sitting in chairs, watching the sad sap walk toward them with his head hanging down. Part of him did feel bad for Morgan. His freaky little girlfriend had broken his heart by leaving him for another man. Grimes was one to wear his 'lady-feelings' right out there for everyone to see. Which of course is why Casey was one to bury his feelings down deep. Keeping them out of reach of anyone, even himself.

* * *

Morgan sighed as he leaned his back against the Nerd Herd desk. Jeff and Lester were snickering behind his back. He had known that when he came back that people—mainly Jeff and Lester—would make jokes. Would talk about him behind his back. Hell, who was he kidding? They'd talk about him to his face. They were a new and different breed of evil that hell had unleashed to make his life miserable, and yet he still enjoyed their company and friendship. The worst part about all of this pain and wallowing in his own misery was that he had to do it alone. Chuck had gone on some impromptu trip with Sarah to god only knows where.

"So, Morgan..."

"Shut it Lester." Without another word, Morgan pushed himself away from the Nerd Herd desk and walked away.

His head down, his eyes boring holes into the floor, it was almost as if his only purpose in life was to escape the torment that Jeff and Lester had planned for him.

"Excuse me, do you work here?"

The scent that overwhelmed his nostrils was almost flowery. It was nice, not a smell he was used to, what being stuck with hanging out with Jeff and Lester. Looking up, the words he wanted to speak to away from the woman in front of him got stuck in his throat. Her reddish-brown hair fell just below her shoulder, and though she was quite a bit taller than himself, he could tell that her eyes were an odd shade of hazel. She was, for lack of better words, beautiful.

"Yes. I do." He said as he smiled softly at her.

"Could you help me pick out a digital camera for a friend of mine? Her birthday is coming up and I really have no idea what I'm looking for."

"I'd love too."

* * *

Casey stood on the fringe of one of the many Buy More aisle-ways. He watched as Morgan ogled over the female customer that he was helping. The woman's back was turned toward Casey, but even just seeing the back of her head, Casey could tell that she was an attractive younger woman.

"You're being kind of a creeper there, John. You been hanging out with my man Jeff?"

Lester Patel was one of those people that was easily manipulated if you knew which buttons to push, but could just as easily ruin everything that you're working toward. Casey knew that right now he had a choice. Lester could either help him, by doing something cruel to get Morgan away from the customer he was helping, or he could totally ruin his plan.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and go free Morgan. I have a message for him from the 'Big man.'"

"You got it." The chuckle that followed his words made Casey almost instantly regret asking yet another moron for help.

Good help was hard to come by. He didn't understand why the General couldn't insure that they had slightly more competent people working around them. People who could be useful, and not mocking in a cruelly evil way that Jeff and Lester were. He could at least give Grimes that much credit. He might be an ignorant moron, but he was faithful, and would do whatever he could to help find his idiot best friend.

Watching in awed horror as Lester berated Morgan in front of the customer, Casey felt a slight twinge of guilt try to work itself up to the surface. Swallowing hard, he fought the feeling back down into it's place.

Morgan bowed his head in defeat and started to walk away from the verbal beating that Jeff had joined in on. As he made his way back toward the aisle that Casey was hiding in, he grabbed his arm and pulled him into the aisle. As he did so, Casey caught sight of the woman that Morgan had been helping. He couldn't help but feel like he had seen her before. She didn't give him a bad feeling necessarily, but it definitely wasn't a good feeling either

"You need to come with me. It's about Bartowski... he needs your help."

"Chuck's in trouble?"

"Yes."

It wasn't really a lie, if Casey didn't find Bartowski or Walker soon, he'd be jobless and they'll be dead. He would definitely make sure of that, even if it is the last thing he does.

* * *

Chuck sighed deeply. The sound could have been either of happiness or joy. He hated that he had to leave his friends and family behind, possibly forever, but he loved that he was here with Sarah. Watching as her chest moved in a slow, rhythmic way, he wondered what it was that she was dreaming about, and if she was truly happy to give up her life, the only life she's known, for him.

"Why are you watching me sleep? It's creepy."

"Because you're amazing and beautiful and I can't believe that you're actually here with me."

"As sweet as that is Chuck, I can't sleep with you staring at me."

"I could go grab you something? Maybe some warm milk... or something that helps Sarah Walker sleep?"

Sarah smiled sleepily at him, her hand resting on his chest. "No, I **can** sleep. Just not with you watching me. If you want something though, you **can** go get it."

He heard the implication she was making and gave in, even if he didn't want to leave her side, afraid that maybe if he did she'd disappear.

"Ok, I guess...are you sure you don't want anything though?"

"Positive."

Chuck smiled as he climbed out of bed and put on his shoes. Sarah sighed happily, before smiling back.

"Be careful."

"Careful is my middle name… well... technically it's not, but you get my point."

"Yes, Chuck, I get your point."

Without another word he disappeared out the door, letting it shut gently behind him.

* * *

"Come on man. You can't practically drag me out of the store talking about how Chuck's in trouble, and then tell me nothing."

"I can do whatever I want. You'll know when I want you to know. First thing's first, we have to get somewhere secure before I start telling you anything about what that idiot friend of yours did."

Morgan huffed angrily, as he stared straight ahead, following Casey toward the Orange, Orange.

"Frozen Yogurt? Really Casey?"

"Trust me, not everything is as it appears."

"I don't even know what that means!"

"My point exactly…" Casey stopped suddenly and turned back toward Morgan. He felt a twinge of guilt for taking out his frustration on Morgan. He hadn't betrayed him, gone rogue and left him to deal with the aftermath. "You're the only person who can help me now. I'm counting on you."

"Oh, lucky me." Morgan rolled his eyes, as he started to follow Casey again.

"I think that I might like your new attitude Morgan. Very...feisty."

* * *

"Yes, I understand, General. I'm inside of Castle. I'm hoping that Colonel Casey will return shortly."

"You mean that the Colonel is not inside?"

General Beckman ran her fingertips over her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on, and it had the names Walker and Bartowski written all over it.

"No. He is definitely not down here. I checked everywhere for him."

"You spoke to Mr. Grimes?"

"Yes ma'am. The Colonel hadn't spoken to him yet, I don't think. He seemed very withdrawn, almost depressed. I'm assuming that he would be the type to get excited to know that his best friend is secretly an asset working with the CIA."

"You're assumption is correct. Unfortunately Mr. Grimes is a bit of a wild-card. I'm not sure he can be entrusted with the asset's secret. Please make sure that Colonel Casey does not give Grimes more information than is absolutely necessary."

"Will do, ma'am."

"And Agent Buchanan?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Your job is to bring back Agent Walker and Chuck Bartowski alive, by any means necessary."

"Understood."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, so many amazing thanks to my amazing Beta Creedog, your truly awesome! Now, onto apologies. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. My semester of school has been stressful to say the least. I just finished writing chapter six last night, and I'm hoping to start chapter seven soon. If there is a bit of lag in time with posting of chapters, please bare with me. Once this semester is over I'll have a few months off for summer and should be able to write to my heart's content, hopefully though by that time I'll be well into this story. **

**I'm still unsure how long this one is going to be, mainly because I have a couple of things I want to happen in this, and it's going to take a little time to set up :) so bare with me on that as well. **

**Happy reading.**

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* * *

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Chapter Three

Chuck sat silently on a bar stool, his hand holding tightly onto the cup of whiskey in front of him. The pain of homesickness finally set in. The little bubble that he had been in when he was safely, and happily, in the room with Sarah busted almost immediately when he left. He didn't think he was quite too drunk just yet, but he was slowly creeping upon it.

"Hey, man. Your name is Chuck, right?"

Turning toward the deep voice, he nodded. Who here, on a train bound for Berlin, would want to kill him? It had dawned on them, both him and Sarah, that Casey would be looking for them soon. Which is why as soon as the train docked in Berlin, they would quickly hop onto another one before trying to get a flight out of Europe, hoping for somewhere majestic, like Australia.

"Yeah, it is."

The man standing just behind the bar-stool next to him would be only a few inches shorter than his own six-four. His hair was raven black, and the smile on his face seemed genuine. Chuck immediately distrusted him, and regretted admitting his real name. What was he thinking? They were on the run; they had new names. They were Simon and Michelle Charles, and they were newlyweds. He looked down at his hand, and sent a silent prayer up to whoever was listening, thanking them for allowing him to remember his 'wedding ring.'

"Hello Chuck. I'm Daniel Shaw. I'm working on an undercover mission, a very important one. I know about you and your whole team. General Beckman and I had discussed setting up a meeting with you and your team, but I didn't know it would happen this quickly. Where's the rest of your team, namely Sarah Walker and John Casey?"

Chuck hung his head, and tried to think of a way out of this mess. How in the world could he have let a CIA Agent know his true identity, and what exactly were the chances that a CIA Agent would be on a train headed for Berlin? Was Casey that on to them that he had gotten help from inside the agency? That he sent this Daniel Shaw to capture both of them?

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about…Daniel, is it?"

"Your partners? You're from Burbank, you're the first human Intersect."

It took everything in him to stop the gasp that wanted to escape his lips. No one was supposed to know about that. Well, besides his team, the general, and the training facility that he had abandoned back in Prague. This Daniel had definitely not been there, at least as far as Chuck could remember.

"I don't even know what the hell that means, man. I'm here with my wife, we're on our honeymoon. Speaking of, I should be getting back to her."

"Yeah, okay. I just, I swear, you look exactly like Chuck Bartowski. I actually have the file at my table, do you mind waiting right here? I'll just go grab it, so I can compare the pictures, make sure you're the wrong guy."

"What, do you not believe me?"

"I just have to be sure, is all."

Chuck shook his head, and waited for Daniel to turn away from him. Downing the rest of the whiskey in front of him, and feeling it burn all the way down his throat, he took off down the opposite hallway. Sarah was definitely going to be pissed.

* * *

"So wait, you're trying to tell me that Chuck Bartowski, a man I've known my entire life, is a spy?"

"For lack of a better explanation, believe me on that, yes."

"Wait a minute, then that means that…you're a spy too…right?"

"Yes, little elfin man-boy, I'm a spy. Sarah's a spy. Chuck…is as close to a spy that an idiot can get."

"That… is… so… cool!"

"Yeah, pipe down on the excitement there, Grimes. Your buddy has gone AWOL with Sarah, and if I don't find them both soon, then I'm without a job, and they're as good as dead."

Morgan stared at Casey for a moment before he realized what his words truly meant.

"Are you saying that if you lose your job…you're going to kill them?"

"Me…or someone else. Who knows? I can promise you that if someone finds them before I do, they might not be quite as… nice about it."

Casey shook his head, trying to fight off the feeling of guilt that Morgan Grimes was making him feel. Of course if he found them, and they tried to get away, he'd bring them back… dead or alive. Watching as he slowly took each step down into Castle, Casey tried to figure out why every time he thought about killing either Walker or Bartowski, his heart started to race in a very unnatural way.

"Ah. Colonel Casey, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Colonel?" Morgan looked at Casey, before his eyes found the beautiful woman from earlier. "Wait a minute. You were a customer…"

"How'd you get down here, or better question, who are you?" Casey asked.

"Yes, Morgan, but not really. I was posing as a customer, for a very important reason…" Agent Buchanan paused momentarily, before turning toward Casey. "To answer your questions, my name is Kaitlin Buchanan, I'm a Special Agent with the CIA. I'm here to help you locate and recover Agent's Bartowski and Walker."

"I don't need **your** help. I got my very own special agent… and I emphasize on the special."

"Excuse me, Mr. Grimes, if you could let me and Colonel Casey speak alone, I will fill you in fully when we return."

Kaitlin smiled softly at Morgan, her hand grazing across his arm, before turning slightly toward Casey. "You coming, Colonel?"

* * *

"Please don't be mad."

Sarah turned toward him as she attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Why would I be mad?"

A hundred different scenarios ran through her mind, and none of them were particularly good.

"Someone knows who we are… I was drinking… I was stupid… please don't be mad."

Sarah sighed, before laying her head on Chuck's chest. This was going to be a hard question, one that Sarah wasn't sure she even wanted to ask. Asking it would mean that they're quiet fun time would be over. It meant that she was going to have to become the person she was trying desperately to forget. She was tired of being Sarah Walker the spy, she just wanted to be Sarah Walker the woman. Closing her eyes, she opened her mouth and let the question fly out.

"Who knows we're here?"

"His name is Daniel Shaw. He's some sort of special agent for the CIA. He said something about Beckman sitting up a meeting with him. That he's on this undercover mission, and he needs our help, team-wise. Sarah, he knows I'm the Intersect."

Sarah's head jerked up at his last sentence, her blue eyes pierced straight through into Chuck's soul.

"Something doesn't feel right about this Chuck. You weren't scheduled to return from Prague for another month and a half. If he knew about you being the Intersect, then he would have known you were undergoing spy skill training. He would have known that Beckman would have waited to sit up the meeting until you passed your training…"

"Are you saying that he's not who he says he is?"

"Not exactly, but it wouldn't be the first time that we came across an agent… or former agent who crossed sides… and knew about you."

Chuck's eyes widened. What could be a more perfect place to not only corner them, but capture them, than a train that was currently speeding down the tracks headed for Berlin, and without anyone knowing where it was they were?

"What are we going to do?"

"We need a plan."

"What kind of plan? Oh god, I'm such an idiot..."

Sarah looked up at Chuck, her hand was laying on his chest.

"You made a mistake Chuck. You're not an idiot. Don't worry, I'll think of something."

* * *

"Why are you here?"

"General Beckman sent me. She told me that you knew I was coming."

"Oh, right. Now that I think about it, I think I remember her mentioning that she was sending someone, but why? I have this under control."

"By bringing in an unknown wildcard like Morgan Grimes? What did you tell him anyway?"

"That Chuck's a spy, and that he and Agent Walker have gone AWOL. You know, the truth."

"You didn't tell him about the Intersect did you?"

"No. That's on a need-to-know basis, and Grimes just doesn't need to know. Speaking of need-to-know, why exactly do you know that Chuck is the intersect?"

"You know, need-to-know. Apparently I needed to know."

Kaitlin smirked at Casey, as his face stared to turn red.

"Aren't we snarky?"

"Just a little bit, but that too is a need-to-know basis, and you don't need to know. Now, if you don't mind, we do have two agents that we need to locate and recover. Now, if you want to know why General Beckman sent me, it's because I specialize in the location and recovery of agents. Though I must say, this is my first time locating ones that don't want to be found. Usually I'm working to find agents that get captured. I have a very good record of locating the agents, and recovering them with minimal injuries."

"Good. Morgan's job is to get inside Bartowski's head. They both think in the same idiotic way, so if anyone can find some sort of mistake that Chuck's made, it'll be Grimes. Which is why I brought him into this. He maybe a wildcard, but there isn't a thing that the little bearded elf loves more than Bartowski. If he thinks that he's the only way we'll find Chuck, then he'll help us, without more information than he needs. General Beckman will decide what will happen to Grimes once we've recovered both Bartowski and Walker. I don't care what General Beckman has told you, this is my mission, I out rank you. You will follow my order."

"Understood, Colonel Casey. Let's go find us two rogue agents."

The word rogue didn't settle right with Casey, even if it was true. They broke the rules, they went AWOL, they're considered rogue. Then again could Casey really begin to point fingers when he wasn't in their situation himself?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Wait a minute. We're going after him?"

Sarah fought to keep the smile off her face. Even in this desperate time, he had the ability to bring a genuine smile to her face. With given effort, she forced herself to roll her eyes at Chuck's overly serious face before explaining.

"Look Chuck, we have one of two options here. We can either be spies and locate 'Agent' Shaw, or it's Plan B."

"Do I even want to know what Plan B is?"

Sarah shook her head, as she stood up from the bed. She had a knife from their breakfast tray strapped to her calf, and her gun slipped under the band of her skirt.

"No, Chuck…unless you want to jump from the train?"

"Yeah, okay, let's go catch us a could-be bad guy."

"That's what I thought. Plus, you'll be fine. Just make sure to flash."

Chuck faked a smile, before grabbing his shirt and slipping it over his head.

"Yeah, piece of cake."

The nervous laughter that followed concerned Sarah for a moment, before she shook her head to clear it, and grabbed her leather jacket.

"Let's go Chuck."

* * *

"Okay, we have some thermal images of them at a train station in Prague. The platform that they're standing on is for a train now bound for Berlin. If we don't get them at the station in Berlin, then we'll lose our chance."

"So we're going to Germany then? I'll have to go update my passport!"

"We—as in me and Colonel Casey, are going. You're going to stay here."

"Wait a minute. I thought we discussed this, Agent Buchanan. This is my mission, I bark the orders. He's coming. I told you, he has insight into Bartowski's mind that no one else has. We might need him."

"Fine. He's your 'asset' though."

"Fine." Casey growled at her.

He turned his focus on the monitor in front of him. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but hopefully it was something to tell him what their next move would be, just in case.

"Colonel Casey, I might have some good news for you. I've been told that one of our agents, Daniel Shaw, is actually on board a train to Berlin. I'm unsure if it's the same train that Agents Walker and Bartowski are on, but I want you to contact him. Find out if he can locate them. If he does, tell him that his new mission is to keep an eye on them, to shadow them until you and your… team, can get there to apprehend them."

"Yes, General."

"Keep me informed, and good luck, Colonel Casey, Agent Buchanan… Mr. Grimes."

"Understood General"

* * *

Sarah walked slowly toward the dining cart, her hand resting on the lower part of her back, where her gun was. Chuck walked a few paces behind her, his eyes trained on the exposed skin of her back, more than the mission in front of them. He knew if Casey was with them right now he'd bark at him to get his head into the game. Fighting off a sigh, he had to admit that he actually missed Casey and all his harshness. He missed Morgan and whatever new dumb antics that he would get them into, even if his favorite buddy had moved to Hawaii. More importantly, he missed Ellie. Though, he had to admit that it was easier for him to be here and not have to constantly lie to her.

"Chuck, I need you up here. You have to tell me if you see this Shaw."

"Coming."

He hadn't noticed that he had gotten so far behind her. He had tried his hardest to keep pace with her, but his train of thought, no matter how depressing, had made him slack off. The Casey voice in his head told him to shut off his lady feelings and get his computer brain into the game.

Peering into the nearly empty dining area, it was easy for Chuck to see Daniel Shaw. His raven hair stood out from the light gray suit jacket he had on. He had a file sitting in front of him, as he sipped slowly from his coffee cup.

Turning slightly toward Sarah, he simply shook his head toward Shaw's seat. His eyes followed Sarah's, and he watched as a photo fell to the floor beside the chair that Shaw was occupying.

"This is our chance. Follow my lead, and please let me do all the talking."

"Got it, not one word from me."

* * *

"And that would be the fifth attempt. Colonel, I really think this Daniel Shaw is a dead end. He obviously does not want to be contacted."

"We have our orders. We'll continue to pack, and wait for our plane to Berlin, but until we are in the air, then we're to continue calling him. He's bound to answer sooner or later. Did you leave him a voice mail?"

"And say what? 'Excuse me Agent Shaw, but we have to rogue agents that could be on your train. Could you pretty please see if you can locate them for us, and watch them until we can get there?' For some reason, for any self-respecting Special Agent, I'm thinking that wouldn't go over so great. Plus, I've heard of Agent Shaw. My partner knew him, worked on a few mission with him. Said this guy has a big ego, and he'll do anything to make it bigger."

Casey grunted; he wished he had known that earlier. If there was anything he hated more than commies, and idiots like Bartowski, was guys with egos bigger than his favorite gun. He didn't know this Daniel Shaw, and yet he already disliked him. This did not bode well for Agent Shaw. His instincts were not wrong often.

"Alright, I'll back you up, Buchanan. We'll tell the General that we gave it abundant effort…Grimes, you ready yet?"

He couldn't believe that he was standing inside of the home theater room at the Buy More, watching the saddest scene he'd ever seen. With as much as he couldn't stand Morgan Grimes, the fact that he was living in the Buy More made him… sad, and he doesn't get sad.

"Yes, sir!"

Morgan stood in front of him. A backpack strapped to his back, and a single small suitcase was clutched tightly in his fist. The smile on his face was forced, and Casey could tell that he was embarrassed. He now knew why Morgan had been so adamant about them not coming with him to get his things together. He actually felt bad for the small bearded fellow.

"Let's go then. We have a plane to catch."

* * *

"Excuse me. Are you Daniel Shaw?"

Sarah forced a smile on her face and giggled lightly.

"Yes. Are you Sarah Walker?"

"I could be… I'd like to continue this conversation somewhere more private."

Daniel looked her over real good for a moment, his eyes lingering on hers. There was something there, for only a moment. Something not right, but it was gone before she had a chance to register what exactly it was. He stood up quickly, and grabbed his folder from the table.

"My room good?"

"Perfect."

Sarah signaled Chuck to follow them. He downed his one shot of whiskey, letting them to get a little head start, before he stood up, paid the bartender and headed in the same direction that they had left in. He wasn't sure that this plan was necessarily solid, but it sure beat the hell out of jumping from a moving train.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I am an awful FF writer I know! This chapter has been a long time coming, I apologize. This semester of school has been harsh. Luckily, it's almost over! WhoooHooo! I just finished writing chapter eight a couple of nights ago, but before I can begin on chapter nine I must fix what my beta reader has called an "ugly sentence" and I am to fix it to perfection before starting on the next chapter, so here's hoping I can fix that sentence easily. Until then, please enjoy this chapter, and review. Not only do they make me extremely happy, but they also make me write faster!

* * *

Chapter Five

Morgan tapped his fingers nervously against the arm rest. Casey grunted his frustration before turning toward him. "Do we have a problem? Let me phrase this a bit differently. If the problem is either, 'I'm afraid of flying', or 'I get motion sick', then you have a problem. A big one."

"Not a problem, Colonel. Just an... obsession?"

"Oh, I do not like where this is going."

Casey rolled his eyes, and tried to put his headphones back on before Morgan started talking again.

"You see, in my mind, the plane only stays up if I'm rooting for it. So I have to keep myself caffeinated if I'm going to stay awake the whole time. I mean, if I'm asleep, then I'm not rooting..."

"You know what, Morgan? I don't care what crazy weird obsession you got going on. Hear me now, you weird bearded man, you wake me up, you'll be the only one to die. Got me?"

"Yes sir!"

"Ugh!" Casey tried to reposition himself so that he wasn't facing Morgan anymore.

* * *

"One more time. What's the plan?"

Chuck was leaning into Sarah closely, his mouth right next to her ear. Sarah had been surprised at Chuck's strength and agility, when he had pulled up the unconscious Daniel Shaw, and threw him over his shoulder. She had thanked her lucky stars that they only passed two people in the train hallways, and feigned drunkenness.

"We're going to wait for him to wake up. Once he does, we're... and by _we're_, I mean _I'm_, going to question him, find out his motives."

"Okay..." Chuck paused for a moment before looking back at Sarah. "I have a question, if he _is_ a bad guy, what makes you think he'll tell you the truth?"

"Well, I didn't exactly want to say this, but I plan on using... unique force to get him to talk."

Chuck gulped, and tried to hide the disappointment on his face. He knew what that look paired with those words meant. He squirmed uncomfortably before asking the question he already knew the answer to.

"You're going to seduce him?"

"Yes. Which means that you wait outside."

Chuck eyed the door and then Sarah. "Wait, like in the small, cramped hallway?"

Sarah tried to not laugh at him, and replaced what she was certain was almost a smile with a serious face.

"The hallway, bathroom, the dining car... on top the train. I don't care where it is you wait, just as long as you can get here quickly when I need you, and you stay quiet, and out of the way, until I give you the signal. You got me?"

"Apparently I do... since it appears I have no choice. What happens after?"

"Well, after I figure out his true motives, then we'll discuss it together..."

Sarah paused at the obvious confused look on Chuck's face.

"You and him... or you and me?"

She couldn't help laughing at him this time. She giggled lightly before returning to her serious self.

"You and me. Look, if his motives are not good, then we may have no choice but to return to Plan B. Otherwise, if his motives are what he says they are, then we'll lie, say that we're secretly on a mission, and that he's dangerously close to blowing our cover. Either way, we get away from him as soon as possible... Chuck! Are you paying attention?"

"Sorry. His phone is vibrating, took away my attention. Looks like... well maybe that's a good sign? Fifteen missed calls. Maybe he wasn't lying?"

"Or maybe his 'boss' is trying to get a hold of him."

Chuck looked away from the vibrating phone, and toward Sarah. A quick smile crossed his lips. "I hadn't thought of that."

She smiled back, before motioning for him to grab the phone.

"We need to find out who's been in contact with him. Play the messages."

"I'm sorry, but this feels like a major violation of privacy."

"We're spies, Chuck. We don't do privacy."

"Unless we're in the shower..." he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that...just play the messages Chuck."

She sighed loudly, and Chuck could tell that she was getting frustrated with him. He nodded before entering Daniel Shaw's voicemail, and pressing the button for Speakerphone.

_"Agent Daniel Shaw, this is Agent Kaitlin Buchanan. General Beckman gave me your number to contact you. We are in an urgent situation and need you to contact us immediately."_

_"Agent Shaw, this is Agent Buchanan again. I understand that you're on a mission right now, but if you could take a moment to call us back. We have a priority over here, and General Beckman thinks you could be of assistance."_

"Who is this Agent Buchanan?"

"I don't know Chuck, but replay that last message..."

Sarah looked at Chuck in sympathy. If she heard what she was afraid she heard than there was something much worse than Daniel Shaw coming for them. She was certain that a very frustrated, very pissed off John Casey was onto them.

"Why?"

"I think... I might have heard Casey."

Chuck looked at her as if the world might just come to an end at any second. "Well hell."

* * *

"Man! That was a great flight. I didn't think it would take five Mountain Dews to keep me awake though."

Casey grunted. His frustration level was reaching its peak, something that Bartowski had caused only a slim number of times. He sighed as he realized that even if the idiot did go AWOL, Chuck wasn't a half-bad spy.

"Can it, Grimes."

Casey turned toward Morgan, who looked like he might open his mouth to say something else, when Kaitlin put a gentle hand on his arm.

"Ease up, Colonel."

Casey turned back toward Kaitlin and growled at her. "My mission. Remember that, Agent Buchanan. Always remember that."

He really hated working with people outside of his team. Then again, his team left him behind to explore their inner lady feelings, so right at this moment, he really just wanted to say screw them.

* * *

"How did I get to my room?"

Daniel Shaw sat up halfway on his bed. His head spinning, and slowly he realized he had been drugged. He took a look around the room. Sarah Walker was sitting in the desk chair across the room. Chuck Bartowski was propping himself up again the wall right next to the desk. They looked to have been having a hushed conversation, but his question had brought their attention to the now awake Daniel Shaw.

He caught Sarah mumble something under her breath, and watched as Chuck followed behind her. She sat down on the edge of the bed.

"We brought you in here. We need to know why you're looking for us."

"I told Chuck. General Beckman assured me that I could use your team for my current mission. I'm having a hard time with it by myself. I really need a team to help me."

"Oh, well, Chuck's still in spy training. Which is why we're here. We're on a mission right now. You're dangerously close to blowing our cover Agent Shaw."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

"Look, our mark is on this train. Our intel suggests that he's getting off at the next stop in Berlin. If you could just keep your distance until then, that would be great."

"It's just... My mission is to take down the Ring Agency. I could lose this lead. Your help would be much appreciated. Please."

Sarah looked into Daniel's eyes. She was nearly certain he was telling the truth. If Casey was coming after them, it would be a good excuse to use to not get thrown into jail... or worse.

"I'll have to talk with my partner. We'll get back with you within the hour."

Daniel nodded his head, and watched as she swiftly stood up, and walked out of his room, with Chuck following close behind.

* * *

Casey stood with Kaitlin flanked on one side, and Morgan on the other. Even though he knew that Morgan stood no chance against Sarah, he did believe that upon seeing his idiot best friend, Chuck would stop.

The train would be coming into the station within the next ten to fifteen minutes. He would capture the two rogue agents, and return to Burbank to receive a new mission. Something, that was hopefully, far away from Burbank or its surrounding area.

He grunted when his cell phone started to vibrate. Looking down, he realized it was General Beckman, and answered it quickly.

"Yes General?"

"I have received new intel. Good intel that says that Agent Daniel Shaw has been AWOL for nearly a month. He abandoned his team upon receiving information on the mission he was currently working on. Colonel Casey, if he is on that train with Agents Walker and Bartowski... I fear their lives could be in danger."

"What information could he have learned that would put Walker and Bartowski in danger?"

"He's currently working to bring down the Ring Agency. His belief was that a Ring Agent killed his wife, Agent Evelyn Shaw. The information he found, it proved that one of our CIA agents killed his wife."

"Don't tell me... Walker."

"Yes, Colonel. I believe he went rogue, and might even be working for the Ring now. You need to get to Agents Walker and Bartowski as soon as possible Colonel. Their lives depend on it."

Shutting his phone, Casey cursed under his breath, and looked at the rest of his team.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Casey paced back and forth, taking in the scenery around him. The platform was full of daily traveler's, awaiting for any number of trains that were due into the station. A couple of them were wearing suits, which made him wonder for a moment why it was that they were taking the train. The thought went just as quickly as it had came to him. He needed to stay focused, he needed to figure out how exactly he was going to get Bartowski and Walker off a train that they obviously didn't want off of, without alerting the rogue Daniel Shaw to what it was he was doing.

"Casey, what's the plan man?"

The question itself was easy enough. Get onto the train, drag both of them off of it, and head back to Burbank, and yet it wasn't that easy. They had to get onto the train, that part was easy. They had their tickets in hand. The dragging them off the train wasn't as easy. The only idea that came to him that seemed to be the easiest, the plan that would be least likely to get everyone involved killed, would be to feign an arrest to get them off with alerting a highly ranked, rogue CIA agent. Then of course, if that worked, and they all made it out alive, there was always the whole 'they went AWOL for a reason' thing to take care of.

"Extraction of Agents Bartowski and Walker..."

For the first time since they had arrived at the train station, Kaitlin took a look at John Casey. The usual scowl that lit up his face, and the way that he held himself as if he'd need to be in action at any moment, were missing. In their place was a furrowed brow that meant deep thought, and his usually tensed arms were lax at his side. His feet in constant movement, as he paced back and forth in front of Morgan and herself. Something was wrong, and she was almost certain that it was not something she was going to like.

"What aren't you saying Colonel?"

Casey's head jerked up. Her question had a deeper meaning, and upon meeting her eyes he saw that she knew something was a miss. He had forgotten that he wasn't just here with the idiot Grimes, but a somewhat accomplished CIA agent. He hadn't had time to look up her credentials, but he assumed that they would involve a lot of seek and find missions, like this one. He knew that she'd probably have at least some decent ideas of how to grab Bartowski and Walker, and yet he found himself almost afraid to ask her.

"There's a slight problem...It's not going to be quite as easy as we originally thought."

Kaitlin's head hung, as she shook it slowly. She'd had a feeling that something wasn't quite right with this mission the moment General Beckman had contacted her. The fact that General Beckman had even contacted her was enough of a reason to assume something was definitely up with this whole thing.

"Explain the problem. I do have some experience with extractions."

Casey huffed inaudibly, before standing directly in front of her. He needed to know that he could trust her. That she would do everything in her power to get his team out alive. They may have abandoned him, but he could see their point. He'd known for a while now that Walker's feelings for Bartowski were anything short of love, and well you'd have to be an idiot to not know how Bartowski felt for Walker.

"Shaw's gone rogue. If he's on that train with Bartowski and Walker...their lives could be in danger."

Kaitlin's head shook, as she fought back the urge to scream at John Casey. Screaming wouldn't help anything, it would only piss him off, and that was definitely not something she needed. She just didn't understand why he didn't trust her. He didn't have time to look up her file, that much she knew. If he had then he would have at least mentioned her indiscretion.

"What aren't you telling me John?"

She hated making things personal. It was something that she learned a long time ago. About the same time she had learned to stop working with partners. They'll only get you killed, and that was something that Kaitlin didn't need or want.

"Agent Sarah Walker killed Agent Daniel Shaw's wife, Agent Evelyn Shaw. This is information that Daniel Shaw had found about a month ago, at which point he went AWOL, stopped contacting his team. From Intel that we've received, Agent Shaw is on this train with Walker and Bartowski. At this point, he is probably willing to either Walker to avenge his wife's death, or Bartowski to make Walker live with what she did to his wife..."

"This is just speculation though, right Colonel Casey?"

Casey shook his head, though his eyes spoke volumes. He'd been around the agency long enough to know that if the wrong person, man or woman, were to get crossed, they'd do whatever they need to, to get even. From what he'd learned about Shaw, he knew that he was one of those people. Casey felt that Daniel Shaw was an immediate threat.

"Still...I believe Shaw to be an immediate threat. I don't think that any of the information, true or speculation, should be over looked. I've been around long enough to know that, no matter how much you might think you know a person, all it takes is one thing to set that person off. What I do know is that Sarah killed his wife. I've known agents to get set off by at less than that..."

"I agree with you Colonel. We need a way to extract them both without drawing attention to ourselves or them...but still there is one angle that we haven't approached. What if he's already approached them? You saw his picture, his folder. Who wouldn't believe him? If he came to you for...let's say help, would you turn him down?"

Casey closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had totally underestimated Agent Buchanan. She was a lot smarter and a hell of a lot more observant than she looked.

"Yeah, no...your right. We need to reevaluate this. We need a plan."

* * *

Chuck sat on the edge of the bed. Sarah had ducked into the bathroom to freshen up, and to change her clothes. Nervousness took over his body, as his eyes roamed around the room. For an instant a smile crossed his face at the mess of clothes on the floor from the night before. Prior to his moment of idiocy. In fact the night had started off amazingly. He had known that they were running away together, but he had to admit that he wasn't sure what exactly that meant. Were they together, or was she just trying to save him from changing? It was a talk that he desperately wanted to have with her, but one that never seemed to come up.

He came close to asking her the night before, but he got distracted in a very amazing way, and then he went and became an idiot. Shaking his head, he saw the encrypted phone that Sarah had gotten for them in case of emergency. At least that's what Sarah had called it, though he knew it was more for him than any emergency they might face. She had gotten him the phone so that he could call Ellie, she had told him last night. After of course they went over their plan about Agent Shaw, and before they put their plan into motion. His homesickness was getting worse and Sarah felt bad hiding the phone from him. So she told him about it, and though he was mighty tempted to use it to call Ellie, he hadn't brought himself to do it just yet.

More pressing matters were at hand, like was this Daniel Shaw for real? Sarah was a little weary about trusting him, but she said that no 'alarm' bells rang when he spoke about his mission, and she seemed to be able to tell when people weren't being truthful. Yet he felt like something was a little off, like something wasn't quite right.

Sighing, he picked up the phone and held it in his hand. If he did what he was thinking, then Sarah would be majorly pissed, what with Casey being on our tail as it was, but he needed to know that Shaw was who he said he was. If they went in there and something happened to Sarah because he was too big of a chicken to face Casey...

* * *

Casey stood off to the side, his back planted firmly against the hard brick of the train station. Their train would be docking in a matter of minutes, and they had finally decided on a plan. Was it a great plan? No, but it would definitely do, hopefully.

His phone vibrated, and he thought to ignore it. He was on a mission, of sorts. However, there was something nagging at him, telling him to answer it. Something told him it was important. Without a second thought he pulled out his phone. The caller id read 'encrypted', and he immediately thought that Shaw already captured both of them, and he was calling in to tell Casey he'd failed. He immediately accepted the call, and put the phone to his ear, and even though he was certain it wasn't, he was hoping that Walker or Bartowski was on the other end.

"Casey."

"Don't get mad..."

Thank god, it was Bartowski. Maybe he wasn't as big an idiot like he orginally thought.

"I did something stupid."

Well, there went that thought.

* * *

"I did something stupid."

Chuck waited for the grunting, frustrated ranting that he was certain Casey would mumble out. The last time that they had tried to leave, that they went AWOL, he could tell that it had hurt Casey.

"Tell me that it does not involve an Agent Daniel Shaw."

The fear that Chuck had felt about calling Casey dissipated and immediately became a fear of Daniel Shaw. If Casey knew about Shaw, than something must definitely be wrong.

"Yes."

"He knows your there? Both you and Walker?"

"Yes."

Chuck used his free hand to wipe the newly formed sweat from his eyebrow. They were in danger, that much he could get from Casey's tone. Especially considering that he was worried about them even after they had abandoned him.

"Don't trust him. Don't believe anything he's said to you. We have reason to believe that he's gone rogue. Bartowski, listen to me. When your train docks, you and Walker need to get off. I'm waiting here with a team. Trust me, right now, the least of your worries is the fact that you've gone AWOL. You need to worry about him killing you. I can't say anymore, just trust me Chuck."

And he did. He'd believe anything that Casey told him, even if it was just a ploy to get both him and Sarah off the train. Something felt wrong about this whole thing, and it all pointed to Daniel Shaw. He didn't trust him, Casey didn't trust him, and Sarah felt weary of him. He was no good, and Chuck planned on saving Sarah, keeping her safe. Turning themselves in seemed to be the best, and easiest choice.

"You ready?"

"We have a problem."

Sarah looked at him, her eyebrow cocked, when she realized he was holding the phone.

"Is Ellie okay?"

"It's not Ellie we have to worry about. We need to get off this train. Shaw's rogue Sarah."

"Do I even want to know, how it is that you know that?"

"Look Sarah...you can yell at me later, when we're sitting cozy in our own little cells, but until then...just trust me. Please. Shaw's a traitor."

Chuck started to back toward the door, his hand reaching for the knob to turn it, when the door flew away from him. He started to tumble backwards, when something large and bulky stopped his fall.

"Listen to him Sarah. He's got good instincts."

Sarah's eyes grew large, as Shaw lifted a pistol up, while his other arm was wrapped around Chuck's neck.

"Remember this too. Everything that happens from here on out is your fault."

With that, the pistol went off, and she watched in terrified slow motion as the tranquilizer dart stuck into her skin, and she instantly fell to her knees as she watched Daniel Shaw drag Chuck away from her.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I apologize to all of my readers for the absolute lack of updates the past couple of months. School was beyond hectic, and I just didn't have the time. I know it's a lame, overly used excuse, but it is true. Now, onto good news. I am on summer break until close to the end of August (woooohoooo!) so expect more timely updates. I actually just finished writing chapter 10, and I foresee the story ending by around chapter 15, and it'll definitely not be any longer than chapter 20. Things will start to take off in the next few chapters, and hopefully I can keep you all intrigued until the end. Thank you for everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and please note that I do write faster with reviews. They make me happy, and make the ideas come quicker!**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Casey stood in a readied position. The train was starting to pull into the station, and as far as he knew there was a rogue CIA agent on board. Civilian lives, and the lives of his two teammates could very well be in danger. He was taking every precaution.

"I'm set, Colonel. Did you inform the station manager?"

Casey checked his right and left sides. He found that Kaitlin was edged up against the side of the station building, a newspaper in her hand. He had to admit she was very good at her job. She seemed very interested in what she was reading, and yet if you knew what you were looking for, you could tell that she wasn't even looking at it, not really. Morgan was seated on a bench, his cell phone was to his ear, just as Casey had told him to do. He nodded his head every few seconds, and then he'd spit random things back into it. As much as he hated to admit it, the idiot Grimes could actually take orders rather well.

"Yes. Train is almost in, I can see it now. Precautions, guys. We have to assume that Shaw is armed and dangerous. We have civilians and team members on board. Be ready for anything."

Casey knew that it could be a mistake, a dangerous one, to include Morgan on this part of the mission. Extractions, especially in a hostile environment, could always go wrong. He was just happy that he had decided to bring a tranq gun with him. The thought of Morgan Grimes handling an actual loaded weapon gave him nightmares.

* * *

Sarah, though not unconscious like the tranq darts were supposed to render a person, was very groggy. Tears slid down her face, as the image of what had just transpired flashed into her vision. She had asked Chuck to run with her to stop something like this from happening. To keep him safe. Yet, here she was lying on the floor of their room, and he was gone. Stolen from her. She just didn't understand why. What could possibly cause a CIA agent to take another agent hostage? What had they done to Daniel Shaw?

She could feel as the train slowed to a stop, and could only imagine that Casey was outside waiting for them to deboard. Even though Chuck never explained how he knew that Shaw was a traitor, she knew deep down that it involved Casey. Part of her was angry that he had gotten Casey involved in this, and yet the other part, the bigger part, was glad he had. Now she had someone here that would help her locate Chuck.

Placing her hands flat on the floor, she pushed up, trying to get up. The tranq was low-grade, the effects were starting to wear off. She was able to climb to her knees, but was having some trouble getting from her knees to her feet.

* * *

Casey held his pistol to his side as civilians poured off the train. He waited until the last person at his entrance stepped off, before lifting his wrist to his mouth.

"On my command, enter the train. Morgan, you go to your left; Kaitlin, you go right. We'll meet up in the middle. Orders are as follow: Take Agents Walker and Bartowski alive; as for Daniel Shaw, dead or alive. Our only concern is in locating Walker and Bartowski and getting out alive. Do you copy?"

Morgan gulped heavily, "I copy, sir."

Kaitlin slipped the safety off her pistol, "Copy."

"Enter."

Casey held his pistol out, his back was up against the wall. Looking ahead, and then glancing behind him, he started forward. He was able to clear the dining cart quickly, before moving onto his first hallway of rooms. He kicked the door open to the first one, cleared the main portion of the room before checking the bathroom. He found nothing. Sighing, he backed against the door frame, looked left and right. He saw nothing, and stepped out.

* * *

Kaitlin's back was against the wall, ducking only her head around the corner she saw that the hallway was clear. Pulling herself back, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and continued her search. The first hallway had come up with nothing. Only five rooms accompanied that hallway. This one, however, had a lot more. With her pistol cocked and in the ready position, she continued on.

She stopped in front of the next room, with a shaky hand, she reached forward. Her hand caught the knob, just as it started to twist. Pulling her pistol up, aiming at whoever was on the other side of the door, she waited for the door to open.

"Casey..."

Kaitlin couldn't believe her eyes. She blinked a couple of times, before lowering her weapon.

* * *

Sarah stood in front of the door, as the sound of light footsteps made its way closer to her room. She knew that Casey was checking room by room, and that he'd be opening her door in a matter of minutes. As soon as the noise stopped, she reached forward, and twisted the door knob, and pulled the door open. Her eyes closed, ready to take whatever punishment Casey had waiting for her.

"Casey..."

Her eyes opened to see a wide-eyed young female in front of her. Her government issued weapon was down by her side. Her eyes made it seem like she had seen a ghost.

"You're not John Casey...who are you?"

The question didn't come out quite as harsh as Sarah was going for. She had to admit, something seemed slightly familiar about the young woman in front of her, but she just wasn't sure what it was.

"Agent Kaitlin Buchanan. You're Sarah Walker?"

Sarah just looked at the young agent, with only a million questions floating around inside her head.

"Are you working with John Casey?"

"Yes. We've been sent here by General Beckman, to retrieve you and Agent Bartowski. We're also supposed to apprehend Agent Daniel Shaw. Where is Agent Bartowski?"

The question nearly brought tears to Sarah's eyes. She didn't even want to think about what Shaw was doing to him. She knew that Chuck couldn't withstand torture. He was never taught how to put the pain as far outside of your mind as possible. It was a skill that was learned over many years.

"Daniel Shaw captured him. I think that he was angry at one of us. I don't understand it though."

"Look, just... have a seat. I'm going to radio for Colonel Casey. He'll explain everything. Are you injured?"

Sarah looked down at herself, and noticed how ruffled she looked. As if she had been through hell and back, which in retrospect she kind of had. She had to sit back and watch in awed misery as Daniel Shaw drug away the man that she was...no, had fallen for. It was far too late to deny her feelings for Chuck Bartowski.

"No."

"Okay, stay put."

Kaitlin stepped outside the room, and lifted her wrist to her lips.

"Colonel, I've located Agent Walker... but we have a problem..."

* * *

Casey cursed under his breath. Shaw had already gotten to them, and of course he had captured the one of them that was unable to withstand torture. While he blamed Walker and Bartowski for their part in this whole thing, he knew that it wasn't Chuck's fault that he was never properly taught how to withstand torture.

He rounded the next corner, with Morgan right on his heels. The tiny bearded elf-man had a solemn look of concern on his face. His best friend had been taken by a rogue CIA agent that knew how to extract information from the toughest of criminals. No doubt that anything he might need, or want to know about their team, Bartowski would squeal in an instant.

He stopped in front of the door of the room Kaitlin had said that they were in, and pounded on the door. This had to end now. They needed to locate Shaw and Bartowski, and at this point in time, he really wanted Shaw to give him a reason to shoot him.

"How exactly did he capture the idiot?"

"Casey!"

Kaitlin's voice was smooth and soft as she chastised Casey's bluntness. Sarah just shook her head at Kaitlin, before turning back to Casey.

"He shot me in the neck, with a tranq dart. It was a low-dose. Almost as if he wanted me to watch him drag Chuck away..."

"Damn! That's exactly what he wanted."

Casey started to pace, as he tried to think like Shaw would. He had already taken Bartowski hostage, and Casey knew what he would do if he were in Shaw's position, yet he knew he couldn't say the words aloud. He couldn't say that Bartowski is as good as dead. The words were stuck in his throat, and he didn't even want to try and force them out.

"How do you know that? Casey what are you not telling me?"

"Do you remember your red test?"

That was all the information Sarah needed to fall back into the past. Langston Graham had told her very little about her first target. Just her first name. Eve. And the fact that she had gone rogue. All the information in the file pointed exactly to that fact. Secret meetings. Missions that weren't sanctioned by the CIA. She almost didn't go through with it, until Eve tried to pull her weapon on Sarah...

"Yes. Her name was Eve. Rogue CIA agent."

Casey pinched the bridge of his nose before speaking. "She was Daniel Shaw's wife."

"Oh..my..god."

Sarah felt like she could just scream. She had a feeling that Langston might have been wrong about Eve, until she tried to pull a weapon. That was how she always told herself it was the right thing to do, and yet there was always that little bit of doubt pulling at the edge of her mind. She hadn't been entirely sure that Eve was pulling a weapon, not really. Now Chuck may die because of a stupid mistake from her past.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: And I was able to keep my promise! Makes me feel good to get a new chapter out. Also, know that I do know where this is going, but as always, I am having a slight difficulty writing it out. So, I'm going to be working with my amazing beta-reader on getting the last chapters (I am not finished writing just yet.) out in a way to satisfy those of you that have stuck with me on this. **

* * *

Chapter Eight

Sarah paced the compact hotel suite that acted as their headquarters. Morgan sat on the edge of the sofa, one finger in his mouth, his teeth assaulting the nail vigorously. Kaitlin stood behind Casey, her hand on his shoulder as she peered at the screen that he had been glaring at for the past couple of hours.

Chuck had officially been missing for three hours. He was not equipped to handle torture, and he was entirely too valuable to be in the hands of someone as devious as Daniel Shaw. At least that's what she told herself, over and over again. If she let the truth ring in her mind then tears would form again, and that would not help anyone.

Walking back over toward the tiny workstation that Casey had set up, she watched as Casey paused the security feed that he had been watching before glaring at her. He refused to let her help in any _'none physical'_ aspect of the case. He saw her as nothing more than a liability now. Not only had she talked the idiot Bartowski to follow her, but she had also let him get taken hostage by a rogue renegade agent of the CIA. He hated to admit it, but she had to earn his trust and respect all over again. This time, however, it would not be as easy. Not now that he knew what she was capable of.

"You come any closer Walker and I will have you locked in the bedroom. I will be forced to have Morgan Grimes guard you."

Sarah felt the unfamiliarity of hot tears push against her closed eyelids, and she fought the urge to let them fall before opening her eyes again.

"I already said that I was sorry John. It's been three hours. Shaw could have done god only knows what to Chuck by now. Please John, let me help."

Her words threw John Casey. She never used his first name. Hell, the only person inside the CIA, who ever used his first name was General Beckman, and those were rare circumstances.

"I know Walker, but you have to be patient. We are only two people, we can only go through so much of the security feed at one time. Once we are able to figure out what direction Shaw went, we'll have an easier time tracking him. Trust me, General Beckman has given me every tool at our disposal to find and recover Chuck Bartowski."

Sarah shook her head, letting his words sink in, but at the same time she knew that a new pair of eyes on that security feed was the best tool at their current disposal and he refused to even acknowledge it. She had made a mistake, she was able to see this clearly now. There was no way humanly possible that she alone could protect Chuck. Not the way he needed to be protected. At least until he was able to really harness the power that the intersect 2.0 released. The face that he's being held by a revengeful psychopath, and he needs her help now more than ever, and Casey won't even allow her to help.

"John. You and I both know that a new pair of eyes on that feed is the best thing right now. I know that you are pissed at me, and rightfully so. You don't trust me, and you probably don't even like me very much right now, and I get that I do, but this is Chuck. The intersect wasn't working right as it was, and it's probably really not working right now because he is scared and he is alone and he needs us John. He can't handle what Shaw is eventually going to put him through..."

John Casey was not happy at this particular moment. Not only was Sarah trying to prod him by showing a comradery with him, but she was using the lanky dork, Bartowski, against him. He hated to admit it, but Chuck had became somewhat of a friend to him over the years. Even if Casey didn't want to be friends with him, Chuck simply would not let that stand. What killed Casey the most, was the fact that he had actually started to care about Chuck's well being, outside of it just being his job. Lady-feelings is all it was, and John Casey prided himself on not having those type of feelings, and yet here he was letting Sarah's little speech get to him. Even if everything she said was true.

"First of all Walker, using my first name like that is only pissing me off. So cut it out. Second of all, as much as I hate to say it, you're right. He does need us, so get over here and shut your mouth. That means you too Grimes. I will send the security feeds that Kaitlin and I haven't had a chance to go over yet. Do not take your eyes off that monitor for any reason what so ever. We're running out of time."

* * *

Chuck Bartowski sat on what he assumed to be a wooden chair in what smelt like a dank basement. His arms were pulled behind his back, and the strain it put on his shoulders was causing pain to radiate down his back. His hands cuffed so tightly that he could feel them starting to chafe. He heard the footsteps approaching him. Shaw had returned.

"Ah. Mister Bartowski. How are we?"

He felt as Shaw removed the cloth gag from his mouth, and waited as he took the blindfold off his eyes. Chuck could feel anger taking over his usual calm, and felt his cheeks getting hotter. He met Shaw's cocky arrogance with a cool anger of his own.

"Just fine Shaw. Don't worry. My team will find me."

Shaw snickered at Chuck for a moment before bending down so that they were face to face.

"No. They won't. It's kind of what I'm banking on. You see, if you want to survive this, you'll have to do so yourself." Laughing lightly, Shaw stood back up, making Chuck look up at him. "Then again, you can't do that can you? Too emotional Chuck? Such a shame. Guess I'll just have to kill you. Which is fine by me. It was always the plan. How else is Sarah Walker going to know what it feels like to lose someone that she loves?"

Chuck bowed his head, all anger that he had felt diminished. Shaw was right. The intersect won't work right if his emotions get in the way, and right now, anger or no anger, all he really truly felt was fear. Agonizing, paralyzing fear. If he could find a way to let go of that fear, maybe, just maybe he could find a way to beat Shaw.

* * *

Sarah stood up for a moment, the security feed paused. She had rewound and rewatched this particular section of feed numerous times. It was the closet thing that any of them had come to finding two tall, dark haired males walking out of the train station. She had even reason to believe that these two individual's were Chuck and Shaw. She, however, did not see a gun, or any semblance that Chuck was being taken against his will. Then again Shaw was smarter than that. He wouldn't make it seem like Chuck was going against his will, no, he'd make it seem like they were just two guys traveling together. It made her sick to her stomach.

"Let me look."

Casey sat down in the chair that Sarah had just occupied only a moment earlier. Sarah used the chance to stretch her overly tense body out just a bit. It didn't take her longer than moment to realize that Kaitlin was practically staring at her. Sarah didn't like her, didn't trust her. The younger agent had been looking at her weird every since she had located Sarah. In fact, Sarah couldn't get way that Kaitlin had stared at her when she found her on that train out of her mind. Like a ghost had just surfaced right in front of her face. Sarah would put money on Kaitlin being on the other side of this. That Kaitlin was a double agent. That was the only thing that would account for the way that she looked at her when she found her.

That must be it. Shaw must have been supposed to have either taken her too, or worse...kill her, and she was shocked that she was still alive.

"I've watched this five times now. I agree Walker. This has to be them. Shaw is crafty bastard. The camera only has them for a matter of a few seconds. The security feeds outside of the train station won't be as easy for us to get our hands on, but we'll do it. We'll find him."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This took slightly longer to post than I orignially thought, though I do have a good reason. I spent about three hours writing chapter 12 the other day (which now brings me to 1 more actual chapter, and an epilogue) and it's literally almost 4,000 words. So is that a good reason? Forgive me? Shall I bribe you? Also, sending out amazing props to my beta Creedog. If it weren't for him then I probably would have given up on this story a good long while ago, but his words of confidence keep me going. As does your reviews, so give them to me often, they are like food for my muse!**

* * *

Chapter Nine

Slowly, Chuck returned to consciousness. The first thought in his foggy mind was that he was in a massive amount of pain. He groaned, his vision blurry and gray around the edges. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, letting the spinning in his head stop, and then tried to open his eyes again. His hands were no longer harshly cuffed behind his back. He examined the deep chaffing, and saw that at one point they had been bleeding.

Sighing, he reached a hand to his face. His left eye was slightly swollen, and he assumed that it was black and blue as well. His nose had a trail of dried up blood, and was tender to the touch. He assumed that it was broken.

It was then that everything came flooding back to him, and he had to try hard to keep the bile that rising up in his throat from escaping. Throwing up would not help him at this point. Using his index finger and thumb, he softly pinched the bridge of his nose to try and ebb the throbbing pain in his head.

"_Shall we begin?"_

"_Look Shaw. I don't understand the problem here. Maybe if you explain it?"_

"_Let's just say that she knew someone that I loved and cared about. That's all you need to know Chuck."_

"_So what...you're just going to torture me for information I don't have? I don't see the fairness in this Shaw. Look, just let me go. You haven't done serious damage to you're career yet. __**This**__" Chuck paused, eyeing his surroundings. "It's a fixable situation."_

_Shaw laughed heartily. The sound sickened Chuck, it was almost like adding the period to the end of a statement, or the final nail in his preverbal coffin. This was it. Shaw was going to play some sort of sick game with him, and then when he was done, he was going to kill him. _

"_It's not always about information Chuck. It's about the principal of things. You know..she hurt me, now I must hurt her. I saw how she looked at you when I dragged you away. I mean, how lucky is it that we just happened to be on the same train? I was actually, in my roundabout way, headed to Prague to take you. I knew it wouldn't be easy, what with you being held at a CIA training facility, but then again, I always did like a challenge."_

_There wasn't anything that he could say to make his situation better. Shaw had literally jumped off the deep end. He'd lost any sense that he might have had. It scared Chuck to remember how calm he had been back on that train. Like he really was one of the good guys, and yet there had been something not quite right about him. Chuck still couldn't put his finger on it, but it was something in his eyes. Something desperate. However, whatever it was had left Shaw's eyes and had been filled with a hatred that ran deep. Chuck swallowed hard, he had a __**nemesis**__, and it had absolutely nothing to do with himself. _

"_Please. You don't have to do this!"_

_Shaw smirked at Chuck before landing a hard, heavy punch in his face. He laughed as Chuck's head snapped back. The groan that escaped Chuck's lips brought Shaw much more pleasure than he even thought was possible. _

"_This is going to be fun."_

Chuck bent forward and looked at his ankles that were still shackled to the chair he was sitting in. He remembered, that after four unforgiving punches landed on his face, that Shaw had uncuffed his hands, practically begging him to fight back.

Of course, even with his mind foggy from the pain, he was able to make himself focus and push back his fear long enough to flash. Though it didn't do him a lot of good once Shaw picked up a long piece of wood and swung it around to make contact with the side of Chuck's head.

* * *

Sarah sighed, her back against the headboard of the bed and her knees drawn up to her chest. She had been able to stop the cascade of tears that had been so copious only hours earlier. Casey had yet to discover any new leads as to wear exactly Shaw might have taken Chuck. He had left only an hour earlier to go back to the train station to question the workers on if they had seen Shaw.

Kaitlin had stayed behind to keep an eye on Sarah, and to make sure that Morgan didn't do anything stupid. Those were Casey's exact words. Though, Sarah's distrust of Kaitlin grew with each passing moment. Not only did she continually stare, or as she was sure that Kaitlin would describe it, keeping a close eye on her. Upon Casey's departure, she claimed she was going to update General Beckman of their current situation. However, when Kaitlin had been using the bathroom, General Beckman had called her cell phone. She didn't know a thing that was going on, and Sarah had to sheepishly inform her what had happened at the train station. A conversation that had ended with Sarah's indefinite suspension, that could become permanent.

"Agent Walker, would you like something to eat or drink? I'm about to place an order to room service."

Sarah looked up from her position on the bed and saw Kaitlin, once again staring at her, waving her hand around nonchalantly as she described what it was she was doing. Sarah hated her. She hated how she could be calm, cool, and collected while Chuck was out there with Shaw. She hated how she was constantly staring at her like Sarah might just jump up and bite her. Most of all though, she hated how much Casey trusted this strange girl, with her constant staring and secret phone calls to god only knew who, and at the same time he distrusted Sarah so much that she was forced to sit on the king size bed with nothing but her thoughts eating away at her.

"No. I don't have an appetite."

Kaitlin shook her head in a knowing sort of way, before walking closer to Sarah. She sat down on the edge of the bed and offered a small sad smile.

"I know what it's like to not know what's going on with your partner. It's hard. You gotta eat though."

"No, actually I don't. Look, I just...I really need to be _alone _right now."

Kaitlin nodded in acknowledgment before standing up to leave the room. She stopped just inside the doorway, and looked over her shoulder.

"Colonel Casey will find him. I've found that he is quite a determined man."

Sarah looked up at the younger woman, shock on her face. Kaitlin really was quite perceptive. Usually people only saw the angry, grunt filled man with a chip on his shoulder. Rarely did anyone ever see the determined man underneath.

* * *

Morgan sat on the plush, over-sized chair. He had moved it so that it faced the work area that Casey had set up a few hours earlier. He sipped at his grape soda on the rocks, as he watched Kaitlin work. She had gotten up to call General Beckman, and though it seemed like she had been gone for hours, it really had only been thirty five minutes. He just didn't understand why it took that long to tell the General 'Hey we lost Chuck. We're looking for him. Not finding much. Got Sarah.' Yeah that didn't seem like a half hour long conversation. Though he wasn't exactly in the CIA know, and wasn't sure how long it took for the great General to bark orders.

After she had returned from her phone call, she sat down in the chair that Casey had occupied only an hour earlier, and continued to comb over the security footage. Fifteen minutes into it, she smiled softly before looking up at Morgan.

"Could you help me? I just got the security footage from inside the terminal. It's going to take me forever to comb through all of it. Any information we find could help pinpoint useful information for Colonel Casey."

At the mention of the elder man's name, Morgan's face lit up as he came and set down beside Kaitlin. His leg brushed against hers, and his cheeks blushed a deep crimson, as he smiled sheepishly at her.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Just focus."

He hadn't needed to be told twice, as he turned to face the monitor. He watched it closely for what felt like an eternity, as people came into view, and exited almost just as quickly. He watched until all the people started to blur and become the same person over and over again. Morgan's eyes started to burn with a fiery intensity, blinking them a couple of times, he waited until the burning stopped before rubbing the water away from them. Before turning his attention back to the monitor hoping he hadn't missed something important.

"You look exhausted. I'll finish up. We only have fifteen more minutes of footage to cover, and then I'll order all of us some room service. You've got to be starving."

"Famished really." a broad smile crossed Morgan's lips.

He walked slowly across the room and sat down in what had quickly become his favorite chair. He wished with everything in him that he could take the chair back home with him. Knowing that Chuck would definitely appreciate it's comfort level.

Eying Kaitlin carefully, he watched her work. He took in her appearance and noticed that this mission was starting to get to her. Her hair that had shone with a luminous glow, was now dulled down. Her eyes, though still captivating in color had purple bags under them from lack of sleep. He smiled, and couldn't believe that through everything though, she was still gorgeous to him. The way she mastered the computer that she was typing furiously on, and unless he was mistaken, he had saw a hand-held gaming console in her hand on the flight over. While everything pointed at her not being in his league, even just a little bit, those two things brought her more into Morgan's league then he would have originally thought.

"What would you like for dinner Morgan?"

He smiled back, "I could totally go for some turkey and dressing. Could I get a grape soda on the rocks as well?"

Kaitlin laughed lightly at Morgan's request, before nodding at him. "You got it. I'll just see if I can get Agent Walker something to eat, then I'll place the order. Maybe then, you can tell me more about your friend, Chuck."

Morgan nodded, but found her request a little odd. She was a CIA agent, one that was called in to help them, shouldn't she know about Chuck?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Casey paced back and forth on the small path in front of the ticket office. The scrawny kid that had been working the booth had run off to grab someone in charge for him to talk to. If he reached a dead end here, he had no idea how he was going to find Chuck. It made him uneasy to think about the possibilities of what Shaw could be doing to him, the different ways to inflict torture on the poor idiot, all because he had to go and have lady feelings for Walker. Sighing, Casey ran a hand over his face. Walker: the name left a bad taste in his mouth. He hadn't wanted to trust her in the beginning, but being forced to work with her for so long, it was inevitable that he would forge a bond with her. She was his partner after all. Now look at what it got him.

"Excuse me, sir." Casey's head snapped up, his eyes meeting the scrawny kid's for a moment. The poor boy seemed frightened, but Casey didn't have the time or patience to humor him. "Follow me please."

Casey nodded at him and followed the young boy through the door of the ticket office. "This is also our security room. Jarvis is our head of security. If anyone can help you, it's him."

The boy pointed at a door that read Security Room, Casey nodded his thanks before rapping lightly on the door. "Come in." The voice was deep and rough.

* * *

Shaw paced back and forth. His eyes focused for a short moment on the computer monitor, and groaned at the snail's pace that his so-called computer expert was making.

"He'll die of old age before you get that feed up and working."

The younger man turned toward Shaw and sneered at him. Kaitlin had warned him that this guy was slightly whacked out of his mind, but he wasn't expecting _this_. It was worse than leaning toward crazy. He had a calm, almost cold, exterior to him. He expected that Shaw would do real harm to this Chuck guy, and there wasn't even an ounce of remorse to be found.

"I'm doing my best. It'll help if you weren't peering over my shoulder though."

Shaw laughed heartily at the younger man. "Just get it done, Jake. I want Sarah to watch him die."

Jake shuttered slightly, before turning back toward the computer monitor. He really needed to listen to Kaitlin a little more often.

* * *

Chuck moaned out a pained sigh. He had tried everything from pulling on his restraints, to flaying his legs about. Nothing was having any effect on the thick rope that bound his legs to the chair. Sighing, he put his head in his hands. A pained hiss escaped his lips as one of his fingers grazed his broken nose.

He had noticed that his nose had stopped bleeding, but the pain that radiated from it was enough to keep his eyesight fuzzy, with a slight graying at the edges of his vision. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on something, _anything_ other than the pain he felt. His thoughts went from Casey, to Morgan and Ellie, before stopping at Sarah. Beautiful, deadly, and caring Sarah. He knew that she was looking for him. Well at least he hoped she was.

His eyes shot open when he heard the door to his prison open, and saw the sadistic smile of Daniel Shaw. He felt as his insides started to tremble, making his outsides follow suit. Chuck was fearful that Daniel Shaw was going to kill him, when all he really wanted was for Sarah Walker to know just how much he loved her.

* * *

Sarah emerged from her perch on the king-sized bed. Morgan's eyes were closed, a small snore erupting from his mouth. Given the circumstances, Sarah let a small smile creep onto her face. It was in that instant that she realized one of the reasons why Chuck loved Morgan as much as he did.

It was also in this moment that she realized that Kaitlin wasn't anywhere in sight. The bathroom door was open, the light on, but no one was inside. The laptop that had held all of the security footage was now placed on a website. On the site was a small frame with a play button. Against her better judgment, Sarah moved the mouse to hover over the play button, and without a second thought clicked on it. She gasped as a scream caught in her throat. What she saw would be forever engraved in her mind.

* * *

Casey grunted as he grabbed for his blaring cell phone. He held up a finger to the slightly younger gentleman that was explaining the security system to him. He checked the caller ID before answering.

"Yeah, Walker?"

He could hear her taking deep breaths, and tried to stop himself from grunting in frustration. He had a feeling something was up.

"I can see Chuck..."

"What exactly does that mean, Walker?" he interrupted her. He just wanted a straight forward answer and here she was beating around the bush.

"When I came out of the bedroom, I glanced at the laptop. The security footage was gone and in its place is a website with video footage of Chuck. He's tied to a chair, and Shaw is in the room with him. Casey..."

Casey's fist bawled up without his control, closing his eyes, he counted to ten trying to calm himself before he spoke. "Where is Agent Buchanan?"

"I don't know, Casey. She isn't here."

He shook his head, and chuckled darkly at her answer. "Stay put. I'm heading back."

* * *

Sarah paced the floor, her eyes never leaving the computer screen for long. She hadn't told Casey that there was sound, and hearing Chuck plead for his life to Shaw had about broken any remaining pieces of her heart. Then again, Shaw had only taunted Chuck. The first thing he had said was that this was all her fault. He even acknowledged the camera, as if he knew she was watching. It made her physically ill.

She jumped when the door was thrown open, and watched as Morgan sat bolt upright. The sight would have been amusing at any other time than right now. Instead, she just turned toward the door and felt relief wash over her at the sight of John Casey.

"Move."

He stood staring at the computer screen, his mouth agape for a moment before he turned toward Sarah.

"Do you think there is any way to trace the signal, or IP address?"

She shook her head, praying that there was only some way to do it. "Not without Castle. Unless you know a high tech hacker?"

He grimly shook his head, before watching the screen again. "We will catch this bastard, and we'll get Chuck back."

Sarah shook her head. A pained gasp came from the computer and she looked in enough time to watch Shaw's thumb angled over a button on what appeared to be a remote control.

"For those watching. This," He angled the remote so that they could see it better. "Is a remote controlled shock device. Basically, it will shock anyone that is connected to it." He paused to indicate the five different wires that were connected to various parts of Chuck's body. "Now, stay with me here. The higher I sit the voltage will determine not only the amount of pain, obviously, but also the amount of damage done to my friend Chuck here. Now I know, you're thinking, _he's just going to shock Chuck until he dies_. Not my plan at all. This, for now is just a way to get you're attention. Trust me, I have plenty of plans for those of you watching at home, and for my good friend Chuck here. It'll be awhile until I actually kill, or _murder_ him."

Sarah felt her insides twist at his words. Watching in horror, as Shaw lifted his finger, almost as if slow motion. His index finger pressed the button with unneeded force. Shaw smiled as his finger kept in contact with the button, and laughed greedily as Chuck's body thrashed violently.

She heard his cries of pain, as tears formed in her eyes again. This entire thing was her fault. Finally after what felt like forever, Shaw released the button, and she watched as Chuck's body lashed backward, the force nearly knock the chair over.

"That was more fun than even I thought. This should be interesting."

Shaw exited the room, and Sarah felt the tears stream down her cheeks as she watched Chuck's head lull to the side.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Okay, so I know I said quick turn-around on chapters, but I bet you weren't expecting two within a week right? Me either. However, after I beat, scraped and clawed at Chapter 13 (which I just finished rewriting) I was finally able to write something that was worthy to be called a chapter. Might sound harsh, but it was is the truth, bitter, truth. Which means that I only have one remaining chapter to write (the eplouge), and this baby is done. So since I am like three chapters ahead from what I'm posting, I thought, why not give you guys an extra update.**

**I also want to thank, about a million times over, my most awesome beta Creedog. Without him, and his awesome words of wisedom, I probably would have given up on this thing the first time I hit a giant sucking snag. Alas, he keeps me motivated with his constructive guidance from all that sucks, to all that doesn't suck as bad. Now, I'll stop rambling on, and let you read the next chapter. **

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Sarah put a comforting hand on Morgan's shoulder as his body shuttered. Tears were in his eyes, but they didn't fall. Sarah felt her heart breaking for Morgan. She hadn't even realized that he had come up behind them as they watched Shaw torture Chuck into unconsciousness. Casey was whispering in a harsh, clipped tone in the other room, discussing what needed to be done next with General Beckman, and neither Sarah nor Morgan heard the door squeak open or close.

"What happened?"

Sarah jumped, already on edge, her hand immediately on the pistol that Casey had left on the desk in front of her. She scowled at the woman standing just in front of the door. She wasn't sure how, but Sarah knew that Kaitlin had something to do with this. All of it.

"Where have you been?" Sarah's tone was calm, relaxed. Even if she didn't trust Kaitlin, she'd never let her know that. Not if she wanted to catch her in the act.

"I decided to go for a walk. It helps me clear my head. I was hoping it'd help. Now, what happened?" Her eyes fluttered from Sarah's protective stance behind Morgan, to Morgan himself who had unshed tears in his eyes.

"Shaw set up a video feed. We just watched him shock Chuck into unconsciousness..." Sarah waited for the look of disbelief to cross Kaitlin's features, but it never appeared. She stood there, unmoved by what Sarah said.

"Is Chuck okay?"

Sarah shook her head. "He's alive, if that's what you're asking..." Sarah tried to keep control of the impulse she had to lash out at Kaitlin. Their staring match ended when the door to the bedroom opened and a very angry looking Casey stepped out of the room.

"I told you to stay put." Kaitlin's eyes whipped from Sarah to Casey, and back again. "I needed to clear my head. Sarah wanted some time alone and Morgan fell asleep. I didn't think it would hurt to leave for a little while...why are you looking at me like I'm the bad guy?"

Casey's lip snarled. "Well, let's start with the odd behavior, Agent Buchanan. Like the mysterious phone calls..."

"I told Sarah, I called General..."

Casey took a step toward her. "Don't lie to me! I just got off the phone with General Beckman. She informed me that she hasn't heard from you since we arrived in Berlin."

Taking a small step backward, Kaitlin looked from Casey to Sarah. "Okay. I didn't call the General, but I am not involved in this at all! I want to find Chuck just as badly as you two do."

Sarah shook her head. "No. You don't even know Chuck. Do you know how terrified he is right now? That he feels like he's going to die?"

"I may not know him like the two of you do, but my job is to locate agents. It's who I am, and it's what I do."

Casey huffed a laugh. "It's what you do _now_. We'll get into that later, when Bartowski's life isn't hanging in the balance. I knew I never should have trusted you."

With that, Casey walked stiffly back toward the bedroom. "Beckman is calling in reinforcements. We will find Chuck, and Sarah here is going to keep a close eye on you."

* * *

Chuck groaned loudly as his mind registered the tremendous amount of pain that was radiating throughout his entire body. He felt as if he had been ran over by a semi truck, and he didn't even know what that felt like. Then it all came flooding back to him. The brawling match with Shaw that had broken his nose, and possibly his cheek bone. The electric shock device that had coursed through his body. The camera...

"Sarah." His voice was rough and hoarse from dehydration. The word squeaked out, a mere low cry. He hoped that she hadn't seen that. The last thing he wanted was for her to blame herself. Shaw might be crazy enough to blame her for his wife's death, but Chuck didn't. She had done her job, done what she was trained to do.

"Ah. Chuck, you're awake, and calling out for your little girlfriend. How cute. She's watching, so I want you to know that she heard you. If only she knew how to find you, right? Too bad. You'll be long dead before then. Too bad, too; long lost reunions of love are my favorite." The glare in his eyes and the heated anger were enough to chill Chuck to the bone, and yet they had nothing on his calm exterior. For someone as angry as Daniel Shaw to be that calm...

"Please, Daniel..."

Shaw laughed, "Really, Chuck? More begging? This really is getting old. I may have to kill you earlier than I wanted to. Breaks my heart, really, it does. Oh well, guess life goes on. Well, for me it does. For you... well, that's a sad story for later on."

* * *

Sarah gasped when she heard Chuck moan out her name. Her eyes fixated on the computer screen, the agony in his eyes apparent. Her hand flew to her mouth, and out of the corner of her eyes she saw Kaitlin doing the same thing. Maybe, just maybe she was wrong. Maybe Kaitlin wasn't the bad guy... No, she couldn't give in that easy just because she might be a good actress.

"_Ah. Chuck, you're awake, and calling out for your little girlfriend. How cute. She's watching, so I want you to know that she heard you. If only she knew how to find you, right? Too bad. You'll be long dead before then. Too bad, too, long lost love reunions are my favorite."_

Sarah felt bile rise in her throat. She knew she should get Casey, but she couldn't force herself to move, unable to pry her eyes from Chuck, and the pain so apparent in his eyes.

"Morgan, get Casey."

It was the best idea, since her legs no longer worked. She felt herself collapse into the chair that luckily was right behind her. The calm of Shaw's voice made her insides squirm, and she'd never forgive herself if Chuck didn't make it out of this alive.

"How long has this feed been up?" Kaitlin's voice broke Sarah out of the trance she was in. For a moment she looked back at Kaitlin, who was now leaning over Sarah, trying to get a better look.

"Hours. Though Chuck has only been conscious for a few minutes here and there."

She couldn't force the word _torture_ out of her mouth. Just thinking it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"_Please, Daniel..."_

The pleading in his voice brought a fresh batch of tears to her eyes, and new feelings of dread to her stomach. He was still pleading, but not like he had before. He was giving up hope.

She heard Shaw laugh. It was the single sickest sound she'd heard, right along with Chuck's screams of agony. He was laughing at Chuck for pleading for his life. He really had lost it.

"_Really, Chuck? More begging? This really is getting old. I may have to kill you earlier than I wanted to. Breaks my heart, really, it does. Oh, well, guess life goes on. Well, for me it does. For you... well, that's a sad story for later on."_

Sighing, her eyes fluttered back to Kaitlin. The hazel of them seemed slightly familiar, but she shrugged it off. Her eyes jumped back to the monitor as Shaw raised his fist and she heard the familiar sound of a cracking bone, as Shaw's fist made contact with Chuck's face. She watched as blood dripped from the corner of Chuck's mouth, and she saw the familiar grin on Shaw's face, as Chuck spat out excess blood that had pooled in his mouth. The sight made her sick.

The bedroom door opened and Casey stepped in.

"_That's all for now. Don't want Chuck here to pass out again. What fun would that be? I'm going to be shutting off the feed for a little bit, don't worry. We'll be back soon."_

Again that same sinister grin appeared on his face. In response, Casey's fist came down hard on the desk. "Dammit!"

As the screen went black, Kaitlin stood up.

Sarah rose when Kaitlin did, ready to tackle her to the floor if need be. "Where do you think you're going?"

"The bathroom, or do you need to accompany me in there too?"

Sarah gazed at her for a moment, before looking at Casey. "Go on. Five minutes, Buchanan, then Walker is coming in for you."

Kaitlin shook her head, as she headed for the door.

* * *

Sarah paced slowly back and forth in front of the bathroom door. _Give them an inch and they'll take a mile._ That was the saying at least. She wasn't about to give Kaitlin an inch, let alone a mile. She stopped for moment, her brow quirked slightly, and a scowl formed on her face.

Backing away from the door far enough to peer back into the main room, she motioned to Casey. He stood and walked toward her, his face taunt with exhaustion.

"What is it, Walker?" he asked, his eyes moving between Walker and the bathroom door she had been watching like a hawk.

"She's been in there for nearly ten minutes, and I swear I can hear her talking to someone." Casey nodded his head in acknowledgment as he followed her back to the bathroom door.

"Open up, Agent Buchanan." He paused for a moment to let her open the door. When she didn't, he pounded on the door. "I know you're not using the restroom. I hear you talking to someone." He growled when she still didn't open the door. "Open the damn door!"

With that, the door flew open, and she looked at Casey, her eyes wide. "I know where Chuck is! We need to leave now though. Shaw is sick of his game already."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Okay all my friendly little readers. Even those who don't review *points* yes I am talking about you. I just finished chapter fourteen of this bad boy, and *insert sad smiley face here* it's the last chapter. Yes, that means this is coming to an end. I have had a blast writing this, and even more fun working with my Beta, Creedog, for his awesomeness is more than I can even come up with words for. So, without furtherado, the longest chapter so far in this story, and one of the ones that I had THE most fun writing! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Kaitlin paced back and forth. The motion had always calmed her as a child, the swift back-and-forth movement. It was a like a lullaby to her soul. Pushing her hands to her eyes, she tried to keep her lip curling in a snarl. She was more than upset. Even if she hadn't been quite so forthcoming with information, she hadn't been lying. She wasn't working with Shaw, and she did want to find Chuck.

The thing that pissed her off the worse was that she _knew _where he was. That his life was in immediate danger, and neither Casey nor Sarah would listen to her.

"Let me spell this out for you...Shaw is going to kill Chuck. He is going to do it soon. Shaw's grown sick of this weird little game of his..."

Casey's lip snarled in distrust. "How would you know this? Unless you are on the inside. Sorry, Buchanan, but unless we have a _real_ lead, we're not leaving this room."

Kaitlin couldn't believe her ears. They were just going to sit there and let Chuck die. "Sarah, please."

Kaitlin could see a hint of belief in her blue eyes... but it disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. Sarah didn't trust her either. "You're both making a huge mistake. When he's dead, and you know that I was right, I don't..."

"I would walk away Buchanan. I will not even try to stop Walker from kicking your ass."

An almost triumphant smile crossed Sarah's lips at this. Kaitlin huffed, before throwing her arms up in defeat. "Fine." She retreated back into the main room, closing the bedroom door behind her.

Kaitlin's eyes lit up when she saw Morgan sitting on the couch, his head leaning back, his feet propped up on the table in front of him. "This is going to be too easy," she whispered to herself.

* * *

Chuck looked around the tiny room he was being held prisoner in. It was the first time he really allowed himself to really take in the room, and what little was inside of it. Aside from himself, and the chair that he was once again tied tightly too, there was the video camera that he was certain had caused Sarah at least a little bit of pain.

He wished for the strength to be able to get up and turn it on, just so that he could tell her everything that he realized he would never be able to. Like how sorry he was for everything that has happened, and that no matter what happens. Even if he's alone in this room with Shaw, when he takes his last breath, that he will always love her.

A strangled sniffle lurched from his mouth, as a tear slid down his cheek. As far as he knew there was absolutely no way that they could find him. Shaw had explained his entire set up to him after he shut the feed down. His plan was beyond genius, and nearly impossible to trace.

_Chuck watched as Shaw disconnected the small cord from the camera. The red recording light flicked off almost immediately, as Shaw chuckled almost...triumphantly. Though he was sick of being stuck in this room, having to endure Shaw's relentless torture, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He couldn't focus enough to get the Intersect to work correctly, and from the look of the thick rope in Shaw's hand, he was planning on tying him up yet again. _

"_You see, Chuck, what I didn't tell our little home viewers is that I needed this break. As short, or as long as I see fit, to talk to you. See, Chuck, I don't think that you fully understand what's going on here. Along with the horror on you're facing, because poor little Sarah had to watch as I used your face as my personal punching bag. Oh, and we shouldn't forget the shocking incident. That was fun as well..." He shook his head, as if to clear away the thoughts that didn't pertain to the here and now. "I also saw the almost giddy look of glee at the camera. How sad is it that you think I'm dumb enough to not set it up in a way to not get caught."_

_Chuck grimaced, as Shaw moved in closer until he was leaning down his face a mere few inches away from Chuck's._

"_Tsk, tsk, Chuck. I am not an idiot. I was one of the best and brightest agents in the CIA. I have medals to prove it. So of course I thought this through. What, you think I didn't plan on taking you for months? You think I just stumbled upon you and thought, __**well, this is my chance?**__ I mean, if I'm remembering correctly, and I know that I am, I told you I planned on taking you from Prague...and even if I hadn't checked in with my partner like I was supposed to, and was about to be considered MIA, I did know what was happening. I knew that you were being trained, and molded into the perfect little CIA agent. At least, that's what they had hoped for."_

"_Why me?" Chuck knew the answer, but he also knew he was going to die and wanted to hear it directly from his lips. _

"_Well you see my dear friend. I have kept a very close eye on Agent Walker for a good while now. As soon as I found out that it was a CIA agent that killed my precious Eve, and not __t__he Ring, I decided to find her. My initial plan was to capture, torture, and kill Agent Walker. Of course that changed as soon as I saw you two together. I knew that it was supposed to be __**just**__ a cover, but the look in that..." Chuck watched him pause as he tried to keep his calm exterior in place. "The look in __**her**__ eyes gave it all away. Just so you know, she's in love with you. Even if she won't admit it. Of course, I'd be an idiot if I didn't know that __**you **__loved her. Do you see how this plan is perfect?"_

_Chuck just stared into his eyes. On the surface they seemed detached. Cold, dead. That of course changed when he looked deeper, the anger, the pain, the __**hurt **__were all visible. It almost made Chuck feel sorry for Daniel Shaw. The pain deep in his eyes would be enough to break even the coldest of hearts, and though Chuck's heart was pure, and not made of ice, he was actually angry and bitter himself. This man, no matter how much hurt and pain he might be in, was planning on killing him. _

"_You know. It's not nice to not answer a question that is directed at you." Shaw's lip curled into a snarl. Slowly, very slowly, he was losing his grip on his calm exterior. _

_Chuck still just sat there, as Shaw let an exasperated hiss escape his lips as he pushed away from Chuck's chair. He sat to pacing the floor. _

"_You see, Chuck, I kill you, it breaks her heart, and angers her. She'll never be able to get past it. I mean, if you didn't already know, Sarah isn't the kind of person to open up easily. She's closed off, not only because of the whole CIA agent thing. No, she's closed off because of her childhood. You broke down those walls she spent years building up. Chuck, you took her by surprise. I can tell. It flabbergasted her. How you, the scrawny, dorky, nerd herder with all the government secrets in your head, could break down her very carefully placed walls..."_

_Chuck let his eyes close, as he tried to ignore the continued mumblings that seemed to never stop dribbling from Shaw's mouth. If he wasn't talking...trying to goad Chuck into doing something stupid, then he was torturing him somehow. As his eyes closed he saw Sarah, the worried expression that he knew had to be almost permanently etched on her face. _

"_Chuckie! Wakey wakey. You're definitely going to have to listen to this. It's were my plan goes from perfect to ingenious. You see, they cannot trace the video feed..." _

_Chuck immediately went back to when Shaw was taunting him and his __**giddy gleeful expression **__upon seeing the camera. His eyes popped open._

"_Thought that would get your attention. You see, I have a brilliant person right behind that wall, who is making sure that my feed is untraceable. You're stuck here until I kill you. They're not going to save you. How do you feel now?"_

_Chuck felt tears well in his eyes as he realized that he was indeed going to die right here, at the hands of Daniel Shaw._

Chuck felt a few stray tears slip down his cheeks, as the door flew open. His eyes found Daniel Shaw's. They were no longer detached, cold, or dead. They were angry, as he flung the body of a man.

"Now you'll both die. Soon."

The door slammed behind him, as Chuck's eyes met the new guy's.

"Name's Jake. I was helping Agent Buchanan track you. Guess I got caught."

* * *

Kaitlin broke every speed limit in the foreign country that she could. Continually stealing glances over toward Morgan. The look of absolute fear at the speed at which she was driving. A chuckle bubbled up into her throat, and she fought to keep it from escaping.

"So..." Morgan tried to think of something, anything to say to keep his mind off of the fear-inducing trip he was currently on.

"So..." She turned to look at him for a moment. A small smile stretched across her face.

Morgan sighed deeply. The only thing that could pop into his head was the one thing that Casey had said that he probed his interest. If he asked, it might make her angry, though he was certain that she'd still help save Chuck. He was also certain that it might also ruin any chances he might have, had with her.

"What..." He stopped to clear his throat when the word came out funny. "What did Casey mean?" He took the chance to steal a glance in her direction. She seemed calm, almost unfazed by the question. Was that... a smile?

"I suppose that I couldn't expect my past to stay there forever. It's kind of a long story...are you sure?"

Morgan nodded his head, "I'm sure." Excited by the fact that she wasn't angry, and that he would get to learn more about this mysterious woman.

"Well...it started a long time ago. I was getting ready to take my final spy test. Because I had specified that I didn't want to work alone, I was assigned a partner. If we both passed, then we would continue to be partners after we... _**graduated**_, so to speak. We passed the final exam with relative ease. As our superior officer told us numerous times, we were two of the best agents to join the agency, and that our teamwork was unlike anything he'd ever seen before."

Morgan watched as her eyes seemed to be caught in the past, as they continued to speed down the road.

"_There is a special mission that I need the two of you to go on. You do this, and it will break you__r__ careers wide open. I'm not going to lie, it will not be easy, and generally it would be a four person team that would get this operation, but I firmly believe that the two of you will be capable of doing this."_

_Kaitlin smiled proudly, her arms tucked behind her back. Rick stood ram-rod straight beside her, his arms tucked behind his back as well. A similar smile was on his face. This was nothing new, not since they had both kicked the final exams ass two months earlier. They were always getting missions that no one else did. _

"_Yes, sir!" Kaitlin said immediately, always happy to make her superior officer happy. _

"_Agents Buchanan and Holstad, you're briefing envelop is in you're briefing boxes. You're dismissed."_

_At which time both Kaitlin and Rick saluted Langston Graham, before rushing off to get their mission debrief and be off on another exciting mission._

_Two months. Two long horrid months they had been undercover with the Russian gun runner, Trevi Markoff. If only the CIA had known just how awful this man truly was. Kaitlin had already decided that if she had to watch him kill one more innocent man...__She let her train of thought run off. They had a much more serious problem. Trevi's numero uno bodyguard, Marko Petrov__,__ was returning tonight. From what they had been able to pick up from secondhand chatter, Marko had been out__doing a particular gun run for Trevi. _

_Another piece of chatter, though this came from Trevi's mouth directly, was that Marko was able to spot a cop a mile away. Though Kaitlin and Rick weren't cops, they were about as close as you could get. She felt as some grabbed a tight hold on her hand, and prayed it wasn't Trevi trying to force her into doing...__**that**__ again. _

"_I can literally feel the fear radiating off of you. If we're going to survive this Kait, you're going to have to channel that fear a little better. Otherwise, Marko will mark you automatically."_

_She turned slightly, her lips curling up in a half smile, as she ran her free hand over Rick's cheek. "What if he does mark us. Both of us? You heard what Trevi said about the last group of '__**pigs**__' that tried to infiltrate his organization."_

_Rick's eyes glazed slightly as he recalled the conversation. The fear he had felt at Trevi's words was hard to hide, as was the fact that he his hand had snaked out to hold Kaitlin's. "He said that he made them shoot each other."_

"_I can't shoot you__,__ Rick!" Her voice was pleading right along with her eyes. _

_He smiled convincingly at her. "I know__,__ Kait. You won't have to. We're the best__,__ remember? That's why Graham put us on this mission. One more month until the meeting, and this will all be over."_

_Kaitlin smiled back, as Rick's lips brushed against her cheek. "After this, we'll tell Graham about us." Kaitlin nodded her head, the smile still plast__e__red on her lips. That was just what she needed to help her focus. __'__One more month, and Rick and I will not have to hide our relationship any longer.__'_

"_Trevi! Would I lie to you? Those two. They're cops__,__ Trevi. Worse, they are government pigs."_

_Rick stood next to Kaitlin, wanting nothing more than to reach out and hold her trembling hand. She had known it was coming, and he had tried to talk her out of it. What made him think that they'd be able to fool Marko? _

_Kaitlin glanced from Rick to Trevi, before settling on Marko and then starting all over again. None of the men were small. Rick, who she always thought to be an overbearingly large man, looked almost infant in size next to Trevi and Marko. Both well over six__-__five, and well over three hundred pounds. Most of which, she assumed to be in muscle. She could see the gun holsters around both of their shoulders, and wondered if maybe they might not just shoot the both of them. She could take that. Dying with Rick, not dying because of Rick. _

_Trevi turned to face them, an evil sick smile on his face. "Well, you know what I do to __**pigs**__." _

_Kaitlin noticed how he had practically spat out the word pigs. She couldn't help the trembling in her appendages that she had kept hidden behind her back. She could feel sweat drip from her forehead as she held Trevi's eye contact. _

"_I guess the two_ _**pigs**__ will just have to shoot each other. How tragic. A lovers__'__ quarrel gone wrong." He sneered from Kaitlin to Rick. "You thought you fooled me on that. Ha! No. Trevi is not stupid...__though he did let little piggies in his house, so that would __be__ cause for some stupidity__,__ I suppose." He put his chin in his hand in a thoughtful manner. "Either way, lovers will kill each other. You will watch each other die, slow painful death. It will be fun to watch." He smiled sickeningly at them, as he snapped his fingers. _

_Almost immediately, a gun was shoved into each of their hands. Rick looked at her, as he swiped a hand over his chest. Kaitlin had to fight the grin, knowning her man was smart enough to wear a vest. She wondered for an instant where he had gotten it, and why he hadn't offered her one, but realized that he must have only been able to get one. This was fine. She would be willing to die so that he could live. _

_Angling the gun, she aimed, dead center, and pulled the trigger. Rick's gun never went off. She saw the blood pooling around his body, the gun felt heavy in her hand, but the snarl on her face showed her true intention as she turned the gun, first on Marko. His body dropped with a thud as the single wound in his head oozed blood. Turning her sights on Trevi, she watched as he back himself against his desk._

"_It's okay. You're a cop. Fantastic. We love cops. Please, don't shoot me."_

_Kaitlin chuckled darkly, as she aimed, and pulled the trigger, not once but three times. Trevi's body slid to the floor. Blood pouring out from his body quickly. Spitting blood from his mouth. _

"_You'll never make it out alive."_

_Throwing the gun, her only lifeline, onto the ground, she sneered at Trevi, he was fading quickly. "Who said that I planned on making it out alive?"_

_She knelt beside Rick's body. His eyes wide open, completely glazed over. No life left in them, as the first bout of tears fell from her eyes. _

Morgan sat silently, and listened. He hadn't noticed that she was wiping furiously at her eyes, or that she had subconciously taken a hold of his hand.

"I killed him. My partner...I killed him."

"You didn't have a choice."

Chuckling darkly. "Why didn't I? What would they do? Kill us anyway? Do you know how long this has eaten away at me?"

Morgan simply just shook his head, as he gulped down a new bubble of fear as Kaitlin guided the car off the road and parked at what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse.

* * *

Chuck had looked over Jake's wounds. Mostly superficial. A slice on his cheek that might need stitches. A black eye, and a bloodied nose. Much the same to Chuck's own wounds.

"Thank you for untying my arms. They were starting to ache." Chuck offered a warm smile for the frightened young man crouched in the corner of their small prison.

"Yeah. No problem. It's not like he's not going to kill us anyway."

Chuck felt badly for Jake. He hadn't had time to come to terms with his untimely demise. Not like Chuck had. "I know, man..." He watched as Jake scrambled away from the corner, as the wall flew open. How long had that door been there?

"Kaitlin. Thank god." Jake said, as he threw his arms around her.

"Yeah, thanks will be fine later. When we're safely away from here and Daniel Shaw."

Chuck crossed his arms. This felt too good to be true. His mouth opened, before he closed it quickly. "Morgan!"

He watched as his best friend's eyes lit up, and ran toward Chuck.

"I seriously thought I'd never see you again!"

They hugged for a moment before they realized that they had audience. Morgan blushed as he looked back at Kaitlin who smiled warmly at him. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"Not so fast. How fun is this going to be. Not only will Sarah and Casey get to see that they should have listened to you, Agent Buchanan, but they'll get to watch each and everyone of you die."

They watched as Daniel Shaw sauntered over to the video camera and plugged it back in.

"And we're back, and we have some company. Let's see..." he paused as he picked up the camera and moved it so that everyone was in frame. "There we go. We have Chuck, obviously. We're also joined by my cameraman, who I recently learnt, has betrayed me. Jake, why don't you go ahead and take a bow. That was great preformance you gave..."

Jake just stared at Shaw, his mouth agape.

"Looks like poor Jake is speechless. Ah well, let's continue shall we. Our two newest contestants are one Agent Kaitlin Buchanan..." He paused, a gleeful smile on his face as he turned back toward the camera. "Looks like maybe we should have listened to her, shouldn't we have? Finally, we have Chuck's best friend, his compadre, Morgan Grimes." His smile grew even larger when he heard an audible gasp come from Chuck.

"How did you know about Morgan?" The question held a hint on anger in it.

"I did my research Chuckie-boy. I think I might take him out first actually."

Shaw pulled out his pistol and leveled it at Morgan who stood dumbstruck. Unable to move. Out of the corner of his eye, Shaw saw Kaitlin bound forward, and shove Morgan to the ground. Unable to correct himself before he pulled the trigger, he took in the sound of the bullet tearing through flesh. A direct hit, even if it wasn't the one he was aiming at. He, however, didn't see Chuck flash, or the fist that was aimed straight for his temple. He fell to his knees, as his gun dropped from his hand.

Chuck saw the gun drop and picked it up. He shook his head, he wasn't a killer, and he wasn't bound to start now. Flipping the gun around, he used the butt of the gun to smack Shaw in the head. He watched in satisfied glory as the man tumbled over, his eyes closed. Immediately he ambled over toward Kaitlin. Her breathing was hitched, and she groaned. Morgan handed Chuck his shirt, to which he used to press tightly against the wound.

"Morgan, tell them to get help here now. She won't last long."

He watched as Morgan bounded off toward the camera to talk to Sarah and Casey. His attention brought back to the woman who lay bleeding to death. The woman who had taken a bullet for his best friend.

"Do—me... a favor." Her voice shuttered with each painstaking breath. She watched as Chuck shook his head. "Tell Sarah—that—you...know why—I look—familiar." She watched as Chuck's brow knitted together in confusion. "I'm—her—sister." With that, her world went black.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I am slightly sad to announce this story is coming to an end. I officially finished up the epilogue, and have it beta'd and ready to post. I'd look for it tomorrow, or Monday... Just need to tweak a few things. Nothing major. When this story comes to an end, so will my Chuck FF's. Not for good, just for a while. I need to take a break, as this story really took alot out of me... and recharge the batteries. I do have a couple of story ideas formulating inside my wicked little brain. Once I take a break for a bit, I will try to come back better than ever! I hope you all have enjoyed this story so far, and one last time. I apologize for how infrequent I updated sometimes. Life gets busy, especially with college courses, and for me that comes first. So I am sorry about that, but it was necessary at the time. **

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Sarah watched Casey's face expectantly. Besides mumbling the occasional 'yes, sir' or 'yes, ma'am', he was keeping her relatively in the dark concerning the conversation taking place between him, General Beckman and the leader of the team she had sent to Berlin to assist in the search for Chuck.

Finally fed up with listening to Casey's occasional clipped inputs, she got up and walked to the next room. The first thing she noticed upon entering the living space was that Kaitlin and Morgan were nowhere to be found. She knew instantly that this was a bad sign. She ran with quick strides toward the bathroom door that was almost fully closed and rapped her knuckles against the wooden door and waited for an answer.

When none came, she nudged the door open with her foot, peeking inside. She sighed deeply, and closed her eyes, mumbling a couple of obscenities under her breath, before backtracking into the main room. Her eyes combed over the room carefully: Morgan's jacket still sat on the couch, and Kaitlin's bag was still perched by the door. The room key, however, was missing. Sarah clearly remembered Casey placing it on the table with the small computer.

"Damn it, Kaitlin." Sarah's voice was low, a dangerous hint to it.

She honestly didn't know why the younger agent couldn't just listen to what she was told, and now she'd dragged Morgan into her escapade. She glanced at the computer screen, noticing that the video feed was still offline. She turned on her heel and headed back toward the bedroom, arriving just in time to see Casey hang up the phone.

"Well, we have a good news/bad news situation..." His voice trailed off immediately once he noticed the utter exasperation on her face. Automatically, his face scrunched up with displeasure as he put the pieces together: he hadn't heard anything from Kaitlin in a while. "What did Agent Buchanan do this time?"

Her arms folded across her chest, Sarah huffed in frustration. "She's gone. Morgan's with her."

"She's chasing after Bartowski... Damn it!" Casey's hands raked against his scalp. "The video feed?"

"Still down."

Casey shook his head in acknowledgment. "You try reaching Buchanan on her cell..."

"She left it behind... Apparently she thought this through."

"She went after Bartowski, aware that there's a known sociopath calling the shots, without backup?"

Sarah shook her head. "Not without backup exactly..." she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He held up his hand to halt her. "Grimes is not backup. You know that; I know that. Apparently the only person that doesn't know that is Buchanan."

Sarah's mouth bobbed open, words in her throat, ready to spill out. However, the sound emanating from behind her caused her to shut her mouth, killing anything she might have been about to say.

Turning on her heel, her hand flew to her mouth.

"_And we're back, and we have some company. Let's see..."_

Sarah started to shake as she watched the video feed show not only Chuck, but a much younger kid. Then there was Kaitlin and Morgan. The latter having the 'deer in the headlight' look on his face.

"Casey...we have to do something!"

He simply shook his head. "Nothing we can do, not yet. We have to stay put and pray that Bartowski can get the better of Shaw before it's too late."

* * *

Morgan sat down in one of the many orange plastic chairs. He grimaced, and rubbed his lower back. He had been alternating between standing, pacing, and sitting. Though he wasn't quite ready to sit back down in the unforgiving chair of doom, he didn't really have much of a choice. He was exhausted. Then again he never had been so close to death.

Well, unless you counted that one time that he had been locked in the storage room at the Buy More. A shutter flushed through his body. Old computers really have him the creeps. Not to mention that situation had made a certain level of paralyzing panic rise up inside him at just the sight of a computer more than a couple years old.

Morgan stared ahead, the sounds of feet shuffling toward him caught his attention, his head snapping to attention. The man that strode toward him wore a long lap coat. A stethoscope was draped over his shoulders, and a clipboard was in his hand.

Wringing his hands, a nervous habit of his, he stood up. The doctor's eyes met his, and a soft smile lit his face. "Are you here for Charles Carmichael?"

At first Morgan just stared ahead, this wasn't about Chuck. He could feel a pout forming on his lips, as something clicked inside his head. Charles Carmichael. Why did that name sound so familiar? Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Yeah." He smiled sheepishly at the doctor. "That'd be me."

"Ah..." The doctor paused momentarily, and Morgan shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"Sorry, I'm Morgan Grimes..." He held his hand out. Was this right? Is this how you acted when you were awaiting word of your best friend? Why did he feel like the world's biggest moron right now?

"Mr. Grimes, I'm Doctor Eisenberg... " The doctor's voice was calming, soothing almost. His voice held a bit of accent, but he spoke English well. "Mr. Carmichael sustained several injuries to his face, consisting of a broken orbital bone and a broken nose. We had to put him under to reset his nose. He also sustained a mild concussion, and needed several stitches to close a laceration just above his temple. The most alarming injury, though, is the second degree burn located across several regions his body. For now, we've applied some burn ointment to these areas, and wrapped them. I want observe him closely tonight. Tomorrow, we'll move him to the burn care unit. At which point we'll remove the bandages, and let the skin try to heal itself. He will need to stay here for a few days, possibly a week."

Morgan simply shook his head. Confusion was clearly written on his face. He simply shook his hand, and decided that Casey or Sarah could explain the doctor's words to him.

"Can I see him?"

The doctor simply shook his head. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Carmichael is still asleep. He needs to rest… time to heal. I will let you know when he can have visitors."

With that Doctor Eisenberg seemed to disappear down the hallway. The same clipboard held stiffly in his hands. Sighing, Morgan's legs seemed to take on a life of their own as they walked him back to the row of uncomfortable chairs. Sitting down, he felt for the first time, a tear cascade down his cheek.

* * *

Sarah walked swiftly beside Casey. Her strides matched his almost perfectly. After a few demanding moments at the front desk, both she and Casey had been granted access to the Intensive Care Unit. The moment the words slipped from the overworked nurse's mouth, she had felt like she might fall to the floor.

Were his injuries so bad that he needed to be in intensive care? Her body had shook, and she was under no control to stop it. Everything had seemed to go from bad to worse, and she just hoped with everything inside of her that the damage would stop there. That Chuck would make a full recovery, that Kaitlin would be alive.

The scene from earlier flashed through her mind once more. The pained expression on Kaitlin's face as the bullet ripped through her mid-section. Chuck's near feral cry, as he knocked Shaw unconscious. The tender way that he tried to help Kaitlin. The thing that stood out most in Sarah's mind though, was the blood in a puddle underneath the damaged agent.

She felt the familiar drops of water sliding down her cheeks. Quickly, she swiped a hand across her cheeks, banishing the wetness. She had never been a crier. Sarah Walker was tough, nothing got to her...or at least to who she used to be. Until Chuck. Until her life flipped upside down, and everything that used to mean something to her, now meant nothing.

Then she saw it; Morgan, his head fallen back just a little. A light snore drifted from his perch on the blindingly bright orange chair and into her ears. He sat at an almost impossible angle. His knees tucked to his chest, as he breathed evenly in and out. Watching his chest rise and fall was soothing, and calmed Sarah's frazzled nerves.

Yes, maybe Chuck was in the ICU, but at least he was alive. If Kaitlin hadn't gotten to him when she did... he might not be... She shook her head, letting such thoughts drop from her mind. Sitting down beside Morgan, she shook the young man's shoulder.

He let out a drowsy moan. His eyes twitched but didn't open. Suddenly, his body started to shake, as a whimper fluttered from his mouth.

"Morgan." Sarah leaned closer, her mouth close to his ears. She knew how hard it was to face your own mortality like that.

His eyes flew open. His breathing was rough, panicked almost.

"Morgan, you're okay." Her voice was a hushed whisper. Her eyes fluttered to Casey who ran a hand over his face.

"Oh... sorry." His eyes darted around the room, and his shaking body seemed to relax just a little bit.

Sarah shook her head. "Nothing to apologize for Morgan." Her hand was on his shoulder. Her mind drifted to the first time she experienced it, when a gun had been pointed in her face, and she had tried to crawl inside herself. She had seen so much at such a young age, but nothing had prepared her for her own mortality.

"Morgan, I know you've been through a traumatic event, but we need you to tell us what you know."

Morgan sniffled for a moment, his head shook in acknowledgment. "The doctor just came out..." He paused looking down at his watch. Had it really been two hours ago? "Two hours ago. Chuck's got some broken face bones and burns. Oh, and a concussion."

The brief description wasn't good enough for Sarah. She needed to know the extent, just how bad it was, and if he'd make a full recovery. She also knew that she wouldn't get much more from Morgan, but that was fine. She didn't blame him.

"Okay. I need to talk to Casey... will you be okay for a moment?" Her eyebrow quirked as he shook his head. "Good. We'll be just down the hallway. If you need us, just yell."

She heard a grunt escape from Casey's lips, as he started to move down the hall, away from Morgan.

"I'll be okay... thanks, Sarah."

She smiled softly at him, before standing up to join Casey.

* * *

Sarah placed a blanket on Morgan's slumbering form in a plastic hospital chair he'd curled up in only fifteen minutes before. Two hours had passed since she and Casey had arrived, and they had yet to hear any news on Kaitlin. They also still hadn't been allowed to see Chuck, who was still recuperating through a restful sleep. Sarah allowed a relieved smile cross her lips as she watched Morgan snuggle deeper into the blanket.

"Are you two here for Kaitlin Buchanan?"

Sarah stood before Casey could, shocked that the doctor spoke such good English. Locking her fingers together in front of her, she stood quietly with Casey lumbering close behind.

"Ms. Buchanan sustained a gunshot wound to her central abdomen. We were lucky the bullet didn't hit any vital organs; it just missed both her liver and pancreas. It did, however, nick an artery, causing her to lose a lot of blood. She coded on the table, but we were able to restart her heart. We gave her a transfusion, and repaired the artery. She's now in intensive care, and we expect her to remain there for the next couple of days. After which she will be moved to a private room on the second floor."

"How long will she need to be here?"

The doctor smiled softly. "I expect about a week, though it depends on how quickly she heals."

Sarah shook her head, as a relieved sigh escaped her lips. "Can we see her... or Chuck?"

"I'm sorry, but Ms. Buchanan is still unconscious and will remain that way for the remainder of the day. We had to induce a medical coma. Any movement could cause the bleeding to restart. Mr. Carmichael has woken, so you may see him. I want him to stay in intensive care overnight, for observation. He'll be moved to the burn unit tomorrow, and depending on how he feels, he'll be released sometime next week."

The doctor motioned for them to follow him. Casey paused, and gestured for her to go ahead. "I'll go see him afterward."

Sarah nodded, as she followed the doctor toward a small curtain-drawn room.

* * *

Walking into the room was the hardest part for her. The tubes and wires that were hooked to him, and the pallor of his skin made her stomach churn. Her heartbeat picked up to match the rhythm of his own. His eyes were glued to the ceiling as if the most interesting thing in the world was hanging from above.

She cleared her throat. His head snapped toward the door, causing a pained moan to escape his lips.

"Mm-hmm. Hi."

She fought against the smile that wanted to cross her lips. The greeting couldn't be more Chuck-like. Being tortured and beaten made no difference apparently. The 'Bartowski Charm', as he had once described it, seemed to take over as he smiled, though it appeared more of a grimace.

"Chuck, why are you smiling? I know that it has to hurt. Here, let me show you."

Chuck watched in semi-awe as Sarah stood up, and walked over to the portable x-ray machine that had been left in the room. The doctor had told him that he'd go over his injuries more in-depth later.

She pulled the machine closer to his bed, and pointed to the upper portion of the picture of bones.

"See this?" She waited until he shook his head, even if only slightly. "That's your broken nose. While it'll be sore for a while, it has been surgically repaired."

She paused, as she moved her hand just a little to the right. "This... that would be your orbital bone. Not only is it broken here," she pointed to a specific part of the bone. "It's also cracked here." she pointed just a little to the side.

"And here I was wondering why it felt like my face got hit by a semi-truck. I guess that would explain it," he joked.

Unable to fight the chuckle, Sarah felt a real smile cross her lips, one that reached her eyes and made them light up with mirth. Chuck was alive and right there in front of her. Shaw was in custody, and from what the doctor had told them, Kaitlin would pull through.

"Chuck... I am so sorry."

She watched as he fought against another smile as he waved his hand partially in front of her face. "C'mon, Sarah; you don't need to apologize to me." His hand reached out to brush away a tear that had started to fall down her cheek. "Hey, what's this? Are you really crying over little ol' me? Sarah, it was my choice. There's no way you could've known that Shaw was gonna be waiting for us. That guy's Class A deranged... total crazy town..."

"But it's my job to protect you."

"And here I am: alive. Job well done."

Shaking her head, Sarah took his hand in hers. "Not because of me. Kaitlin said that she knew where you were, and we didn't believe her..."

Chuck cut her off again, "And I'm sure that you had a good reason, Sarah..." He paused. "Look, there is something you need to know..."

Sarah looked at him expectantly, her eyebrow quirked slightly.

"She... she said something before she lost consciousness. Something that I think you need to know."

Sarah squeezed his hand to encourage him to continue.

"She, um... she said that she was your… she said she was your sister."

Sarah's eyebrow quirked and her hand flew to her mouth. It all fell into place: all the weird looks that Kaitlin had been shooting her, the staring, the so familiar eyes.

She'd been working side-by-side with her sister.


	14. Epilogue

**A/N: And so it comes to an end. It's been fun. Can't wait until the next adventure. Also, for any of you guys that are also Psych fans. Be on the look-out. I just finished writing two Psych FF's... Just waiting for my Beta to go over them, and then I'll start posting them. So keep an eye open for them. Also, one last giant thank you to Creedog for being awesome. I seriously never would have finished them if it wasn't for him. Without Further Ado... Chapter Fourteen. **

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Epilogue

Dusk was settling in as the sun started to touch the horizon. Orange covered the surface of the lake water. Though it had been six months since Kaitlin had pulled out the heroics and saved the day, Chuck and Sarah were still on suspension. In Chuck's case, it was more medical leave than suspension, mostly due to the nightmares that still plagued him at night; all of the battle wounds on his face had healed up quite well. Just a few scars remained... one on his temple and one from his broken nose. Of course, his nose had lost its familiar shape. Now it sat slightly crooked and just a little wider than it had before. Ellie, had explained to him that it was due to scar tissue that formed from the actual break. Either way, it made him feel as if at least a part of him had changed. However, there were other scars that he kept hidden, which he didn't even like Sarah seeing. They were all rather small in size, but covered at least half of his body.

Clutching her hand in his, Chuck looked over toward Sarah. Aside from his random returns to the past, though mostly at night, their vacation was going rather well. Then again, they had only been on the lake-side cabin for a full day so far. Sarah had another two weeks on her suspension, and Chuck couldn't return until he was cleared by the psychiatrist, who had promised him that he wouldn't be in the field until his nightmares ceased altogether. Since he still had a stray one, once or twice a week, it meant that he still had to attend his appointments.

"Hey... where's your mind at?" Her voice deceived her question. He knew that she knew his mind was hovering in the past. It wasn't his fault; it's not like he wanted to relive the entire attack. The torture and pain. That was what made the dreams worse, since they occasionally liked to play around with the truth. Sometimes they didn't get to him in time, and he died without telling Sarah how he felt. Other times, she came to his rescue just for him to watch her die. Those were the worst, the ones that sat him bolt upright, a sheen of cold sweat on his face, and much of the time, with tears in his eyes. There was no more sleep to be gotten those nights. He'd shower, and down enough caffeine to keep him up until the next night.

He smiled, trying to use his Bartowski charm on her. "Just...thinkin'." The look on her face spoke volumes. Mostly, she wasn't buying it.

She sighed heavily, as she took her hand from his. He watched in stunned silence as she stood up and walked away, her shoulders slumped slightly and her head bowed forward. He knew he was hurting her, living in a past that she couldn't stop from happening. She blamed herself for what happened, and the fact that he lingered there as if stuck in some sort of weird purgatory made it all worse. Everything that happened to him, according to Sarah, was her fault. He couldn't make her see different and it broke his heart.

He stood up carefully, stretching the soreness from his underused muscles before walking toward the front of the cabin. He heard the distance sound of gravel crunching and flying around. The further he walked, the louder the noise got. Finally, in the distance he spotted Morgan's car flying down the small gravel lane. Definitely wasn't a road, far too small to even be considered a road. The gravel and dust flew above the small automobile as it continued to barrel down the lane, before stopping just beside Sarah's car. Once the engine was turned off, Chuck watched as Morgan emerged from the car. He stretched his short frame for a moment, before shutting the door. Walking stiffly to the other side of the car, he opened the door to allow Kaitlin to emerge. She followed suit, by stretching out her bunched up muscles.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Chuck let a smile cross his lips. "Morgan!" He ran up to his best friend's side and hugged him tightly for a moment.

"Seriously, dude? Just saw you yesterday... Uh, Chuck... Morgan can't breathe!" Morgan used his fingers that had been clutched around his friend only a moment earlier to poke him in the ribs until he released him. "Gah! Were you trying to kill me?" He eyed Chuck carefully for a moment, as his breath finally returned to him.

"Sorry, buddy... I just... yeah." Chuck dipped his head, so that Morgan couldn't read his features. Before turning toward Kaitlin. His face blushed as he realized that he had been ignoring her.

"Hey, Kaitlin..." He still wasn't one hundred percent comfortable around her. Especially knowing that she was Sarah's sister...

"Hey, Chuck! What's the good word?" Her eyebrow quirked.

He watched her carefully as she slung her bag over her shoulder to walk the short distance to stand in front of Chuck. By the time she reached him, a sheen of sweat had formed on her brow, and she was nearly panting. From exhaustion or pain, he wasn't entirely for sure. Her injury hadn't been as easy to heal from as Chuck's had been. That had more to due to her stubborn ways—one of the many things she had in common with Sarah—than it did the initial injury.

In fact, because of her stubbornness she had two additional stays in the hospital. The first had occurred her first week from being released from the hospital. She had refused to eat her lunch, which Sarah had prepared for her, before taking her pain medication. Chuck could understand somewhat; she had been nauseous because the pain was too intense. However, the outcome was far worse: her bout of vomiting had split her stitches open. The bleeding wasn't too heavy, but it caused Sarah to have a flashback to when she had been shot. In fact, that night had been horrible for everyone involved.

Even though Chuck would have loved to have said she learned her lesson from that small hiccup... well, he would have been lying, considering she thought it would be _awesome_,as she put it, to return to work. It probably wouldn't have hurt anything for her to have waited longer than a month. She had fooled General Beckman, but not any of the actual team. No matter how much they all tried to talk her out of it, she had insisted on a mission. Luckily, Casey had gone with her, so when that giant tower of a bad guy had kicked her in the stomach, the other giant tower had been able to get her safely to a hospital before she bled out internally. It had been that injury that effectively ended her career. Even if it was technically her idea to step down, she really hadn't been given a choice. The doctor had told her if she continued in her line of work and sustained another injury to that particular part of her body, it could very well kill her.

Chuck smiled at her, trying to bring himself back to the present. She smiled back, and couldn't believe how in instances like this that she looked so much like Sarah. The fact that neither of them had even seen the resemblance was remarkable to him. It had to have been the hair color, because slap blonde hair on her and it was Sarah... more or less. He could see the _slight _differences. There weren't many, but the ones that were there did stick out to him. Then again he had spent the better part of three and a half years studying Sarah Walker.

"Oh, you know, beautiful lakeside sunsets. It's kinda awesome, really."

"So... is Sarah...?"

Chuck and Morgan laughed lightly together, at the look on Kaitlin's face. Neither woman seemed to know how to react around to the other. It was like they lived on a thin sheet of ice; one wrong move would send them plummeting through.

"Yeah, she's inside... I was... umm-hmmm." His eyebrows shot up. Hmmm... that was a weird noise that emanated from his throat.

"Yeah, I understand. You were stuck..."

He simply shook his head. Chuck knew that if anyone understood what he was going through—really understood—it was Kaitlin. Though hearing the story third-hand from Sarah probably didn't make him the best judge on that, but seeing at the pain hidden in Kaitlin's eyes, he knew... she understood.

"Let's head inside. I'm cooking dinner tonight... my specialty, Chicken Pepperoni!"

Morgan's eyebrow's shot up. "Dear God, save us all please..."

Chuck chuckled as he led them toward the cabin. The smile on his lips was one of his first real ones since he was released from the hospital.

* * *

Sarah sat back and watched as the other three in her company started to bark laughter. How cliché was it that she felt all warm and fuzzy having at least half of her family here with her? Ellie and Devon had wanted to join them, but a doctor's life was not one that involved lengthy vacations... and unfortunately bad guys don't take vacations, and for that matter, neither did Casey.

Then Sarah noticed the small hitch in Kaitlin's laugh and the way her arm curled protectively around her damaged torso.

"You okay?" Sarah's brow pinched together in concern.

"Yeah. Still a bit sore... but laughter is good medicine, right?" Kaitlin smiled softly.

"Yeah unless your recovering..."

"That'd be my fault. I said I was making dinner... I didn't, however, say that the dinner wouldn't require a nice recovery time..."

Sarah eyed Chuck carefully, as he squeezed her hand, and laughed lightly. "My sister always told me to stop cooking, and that in order to call something your specialty, it had be special... something to set it apart from any other dish. Well, now I know what sets it apart from everything else..."

Morgan barked a rather high-pitched laugh, and eyed everyone carefully when they stared at him. "Yeah... I am not entirely sure it came from my mouth..."

Shaking her head, Kaitlin looked at Sarah. She wanted to say something, anything to her, to converse with her without feeling like she might step on a land mine. Those days looking for Chuck hadn't done anything for their relationship, and she feared that if she said the wrong thing that Sarah might get angry with her. She had seen that side of Sarah and really would rather not be on the receiving end anytime soon. Then again, Chuck had always said that dealing with Sarah sometimes involved ripping the band-aid off really fast. She decided she was just going to go for it.

"You know... you never asked me how exactly it is that we're sisters..."

Kaitlin could tell that the comment had shocked Sarah. Mostly it was the deer caught in the headlights look that was in her eyes. That in the way that Chuck grasped hold of her hand in a reassuring way. From the look on Chuck's face, it seemed that this had been something they discussed.

"Okay... how?"

"Well, after your mom and dad separated..." Kaitlin felt her face pinch up, and from the expression on everyone's face, it was look of actual pain. Sighing, she decided to shorten the story. No need to bring up bad memories. "Long story short... Jenny is my mom. She remarried... my dad. Noah..."

"Uhmmm...wow. I don't think I was expecting that, you know... my mom marrying someone else. I mean... obviously she'd have had to been with someone else..." Sarah huffed out a breath, frustration written on her features. "So... I have a step-dad?" There that was a simple enough question.

Kaitlin smiled, and seemed to relax only a little bit. "Yeah. He's great..." She thought about what she said, and slapped a hand over her mouth to stop anything else from slipping out.

"No, it's fine. I know my dad is anything but perfect. In fact, he is so far from perfect it's not even on the same speculum... but I'd love to hear more about...your father... Noah, you said?"

Kaitlin's face lit up from the smile that crossed her features. She became animated as she shared details of her childhood. The smile never left her face. Chuck's hand still clutched hers, as Morgan nabbed a hold of Kaitlin's. Sarah had never felt so... at home before, never felt like she belonged somewhere so badly before, but now she felt like she was home. It might not be perfect, but it was her own. She knew it wouldn't always be perfect, and that there would always be someone else. A new day in her life, typically meant a new bad guy to find and fight. Not right now though, right now she could simply sit and enjoy her vacation. The bad guys could wait for now.


End file.
